Monday 12, February
Berlin repeat election results: Slight losses for Germany’s ruling coalition
Sunday saw Berlin repeat its 2021 federal election in a fifth of the city’s electoral districts, and while there were slight losses for Germany’s ruling coalition, there was no change in the twelve direct mandates — meaning no big changes in district representation.
More worryingly, despite weeks of widespread protest in the capital, the far-right AfD party increased their vote share by one percent. In fact, all the major parties of opposition saw slight gains, with the CDU gaining 1.3% and Die Linke growing 0.1% compared to the 2021 results. These gains all came at the expense of the ruling “traffic light” coalition of the SPD (-1.2%), the Greens (-0.3%), and the FDP (-0.9%).
Since Berlin was only ordered to repeat these federal election in a fifth of its electoral districts, any lessons from this election will remain partial – but it should be noted that overall turnout was low. Combined with the valid 2021 results from Berlin, this election represents the lowest turnout in a federal election in the city since 1990, with just 69.5% of eligible voters casting a ballot.
