The defeats of the ruling coalition in local elections in Saxony and Thuringia have dealt a heavy blow to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz‘s position, and may raise questions about his replacement as the head of the Social Democratic Party, Bloomberg reports.
“Populists humiliated Scholz with a sharp rise in popularity in regional elections (in Saxony and Thuringia. — Ed.). … The results have become yet another heavy blow to … his extremely unpopular government,” the article states.
According to the agency, the stagnation of the German economy has led to record-low ratings for the ruling three-party coalition. Berlin elites, as predicted by the authors, should expect new defeats in local elections.
Journalists also suggested that the defeats of the ruling coalition in Saxony and Thuringia may affect the personal political career of the current German Chancellor.
“They may fuel debates about whether Scholz is the right person to head the Social Democratic Party’s list in the federal elections next September,” the agency concluded.
On Sunday, elections were held in the parliaments of the federal states of Thuringia and Saxony. The right-wing party “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) took first place in Thuringia, winning regional elections for the first time in its history. In Saxony, AfD took second place. The recently founded left-wing party “Die Linke — for Reason and Justice” showed a third-place result in both states.
None of the three parties in the ruling coalition, consisting of social democrats, greens, and free democrats, were able to garner more than 10% of the votes in either Thuringia or Saxony. In Thuringia, the Social Democratic Party and the Greens took fifth and sixth places, respectively, while in Saxony, they took fourth and fifth places. The Free Democrats did not receive any mandates in either state.
