Scholz and the traffic light coalition want to continue

After the disastrous election results in Saxony and Thuringia, the traffic light government is showing the first signs of disintegration. (Photo: dpa)

Photo: Kay Nietfeld

Despite their election debacles in Thuringia and Saxony, the three traffic light parties have committed to continuing their coalition government at the federal level. The SPD leadership is supporting its ailing Chancellor Olaf Scholz and is demanding more discipline from the FDP and the Greens. However, individual FDP politicians have already started stirring up trouble again and questioning whether they will remain in the coalition. Party leader Christian Lindner, however, put them in their place.

The traffic light parties suffered an unprecedented debacle in the elections in the two eastern German states on Sunday evening. Never before have the governing parties at federal level performed so poorly in state elections. In Thuringia they only received 10.4 percent, in Saxony 13.3. In Thuringia they are therefore even weaker than the recently founded Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) coalition alone. The AfD is more than three times as strong there as the entire traffic light coalition.

Scholz finds result “bitter” – but no self-criticism

The SPD nevertheless reacted to the election results with a mixture of shock and relief. They had feared that they would even slip below the 5 percent hurdle. Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the result “bitter” for his party, but also pointed out that the “gloomy forecasts” had not come true. The SPD had stuck together and conducted a good election campaign. “It shows that fighting is worth it. Now it's about constantly campaigning for more and new support.”

Self-criticism? None. As was the case in the European elections in May, when the SPD achieved its worst result in national elections in more than 130 years with 13.9 percent. Federal political issues such as the war in Ukraine and migration were also important in the state elections. In both states, the SPD achieved its worst results since 1990, and in Thuringia, with 6.1 percent, it even achieved its worst result in a state election ever.

Left suffers record loss, Greens thrown out of Thuringian state parliament

The Left's results have fluctuated considerably in the past. In the Saarland election in 2009, for example, the party was able to increase its share by 19.0 percentage points. However, such successes were several years ago. Recently, it has only gone in one direction: downwards. In Thuringia, Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow's party has now suffered a record loss of 18 percentage points.

In future, the Greens will only be represented in 14 of 16 state parliaments. With only 3.2 percent, the previous governing party in Thuringia will no longer be represented in the Erfurt parliament.

Election quake also causes a stir internationally

On the other hand, the strengthening of the political fringes, with the AfD over 30 percent and the BSW with double-digit values, is also causing a stir internationally. The blame is largely placed on the traffic light coalition. “Voters are fed up with Olaf Scholz and a coalition that cannot control migration and clings to climate targets despite the tangible and growing economic damage,” writes the American “Wall Street Journal”. And the Brussels edition of “Politico” commented: “The result is another nail in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's political coffin.”

Cross-shots from the FDP: “The traffic light coalition has lost its legitimacy.”

By the time she said it, the first criticism from the FDP had already been fired. Thuringia's top candidate Thomas Kemmerich called for an end to the traffic light coalition, and party vice-chairman Wolfgang Kubicki also said: “The traffic light coalition has lost its legitimacy.” However, Linder rejected Kemmerich's demand: “We have different opinions here.” The FDP leader pointed out that there are still outstanding coalition projects, such as the economic growth initiative. “It is better that these measures come now than that they do not come at all,” he said. In other words: the traffic light coalition is still better than nothing.

The commitment of Green Party leader Ricarda Lang – who believes that the BSW has “nothing to offer” – to the coalition also sounds more like holding out than a new beginning: “We stand by the responsibility that we have. We have taken on responsibility for four years and are still prepared to live up to it.”

Is the SPD bastion of Brandenburg falling?

Perhaps the coalition will pull itself together for at least the next three weeks. That's when the next crash test will be in Brandenburg. The state election there is particularly important for the SPD because it has provided all the state premiers in Potsdam since 1990. If the current head of government, Dietmar Woidke, fails after eleven years in power, the SPD could start a discussion about whether the much more popular Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) should become the candidate for chancellor.

AfD wants “blue wave” in the West too

Meanwhile, the AfD used its electoral success in the east to underline its national political ambitions. In Thuringia, the AfD became the strongest force in a federal state for the first time in its history, with 32.8 percent. “Overall, of course, the aim must be for us to become the strongest force at the federal level at some point,” said party leader Tino Chrupalla. “This blue wave must come from the east to the west, to the old federal states.”