This is the question that worries all of Germany ahead of important state elections in the east: is the AfD on the verge of taking power? What is completely overlooked, but also causing panic in the established state politics of Berlin: could the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, in which the AfD is seeking its first participation in a government with perhaps even an absolute majority, also have an impact on the elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the federal capital two weeks later?
Listen to the new Tagesspiegel podcast “Im Osten” on this topic. For correct display, activate “external content”. You can also listen to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or the podcast platform of your choice.
Recommended editorial content
Here you will find external content selected by our editors to enrich the article with additional information for you. Here you can show or hide external content with one click.
Show external content
I agree that external content may be shown to me. This means that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. You can find more information about this in your data protection settings. You can find them at the bottom of our page in the footer so you can manage or cancel your settings at any time.
The AfD is not yet as radical here in Berlin as it is in the east, where four of the five state associations have been classified as right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and where the leader of the state of Thuringia, Björn Höcke, has already been convicted of right-wing statements. Together with bank employee and architect Christine Brinker (who, incidentally, hails from Saxony-Anhalt), Berlin’s AfD has a leading candidate who seems rather innocuous in the House of Representatives debate, especially compared to her party’s overall appearance in the Bundestag.
___
Commentary worth listening to:
Recommended editorial content
Here you will find external content selected by our editors to enrich the article with additional information for you. Here you can show or hide external content with one click.
Show external content
I agree that external content may be shown to me. This means that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. You can find more information about this in your data protection settings. You can find them at the bottom of our page in the footer so you can manage or cancel your settings at any time.
Berlin is also a traditionally left-wing city with a stable red-red-green majority in the polls. According to the latest Infratest dimap poll, the Left leads the polls for the first time with 20 percent, ahead only of the Greens, followed by the AfD with 18 percent. Compared to the last House election in 2023, this would be a doubling of their votes.
Robert Ide Robert Ihde writes, among other things, the newsletters “Checkpoint” and “Im Osten”, as well as columns about love (“Ins Herz”) and the Berlinale International Film Festival. For a long time he headed the sports editorial and editorial team of Berlin-Brandenburg and was also the managing editor. Robert Ihde is an author, presenter and expert on German unity.
Therefore, the election headquarters of the Berlin CDU are concerned not only that the damaged reputation of the ruling mayor Kai Wegner could cost him an election victory, which has long been considered certain, but also a possible refusal after the elections in Saxony-Anhalt. The AfD wins more than 40 percent of the vote here and is significantly ahead of the CDU.
Newsletter about East Germany
Does the “East German soul” really exist? The newsletter “Im Osten” wants to find out – with exclusive reports, in-depth analysis and exciting interviews.
If this is indeed the outcome, the CDU in Berlin faces several unfavorable scenarios. The left, which has most consistently positioned itself as a bulwark against the AfD, could once again mobilize additional voters. In addition, the federal CDU will be in chaos after losing the first elections in the East. She then faces a test because, given the fragmented majority in the East, she will actually have to collaborate with the left to be able to form a government against the AfD, but according to the party’s decision, she is actually not allowed to do so.
More episodes of Berlin Commentaries:
New line, old problems Berlin S-Bahn needs to pay more attention to external routes. €50,000 for State Secretary for Digital Technologies Hundt Kai Wegner can’t remove this disaster from his hard drive Tempelhofer Feld plans New apartments provide social peace
The fact that the AfD wants to borrow momentum from the East for Berlin was evident last Monday at the party’s election campaign launch in front of the Red Town Hall. Brinker also invited Sigmund there, who was greeted by a sparse crowd of supporters and shouted to the counter-demonstrators present that once the AfD came to power, it would “of course ensure” that the protesters “were put to work honestly.” Participants from the radical right spectrum were also present at the rally. The AfD is not as unradical as it has recently been portrayed. Whether in Saxony-Anhalt with Ulrich Siegmund or in Berlin with Christine Brinker.
Every Thursday from 6 am Robert Ide comments on city political issues with Simone Panteleyt and her team on Berliner Rundfunk 91.4. You can find the commentary in the Tagesspiegel to read and listen to.