"It is "only" local elections. But it is the first election in Germany since the nationwide government took office in May. The coalition includes the conservative Christian Democratic Union and their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD). "It is effectively a litmus test for the federal government," Oliver Lembcke, a political scientist at the Ruhr University Bochum, told DW of the vote in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) on September 14."
"The Social Democrats in particular face a further decline in their former heartland, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is gaining in the polls. The election is also meaningful because the western state is Germany's most populous, with 18 million residents. Its economic and societal diversity also makes it a microcosm of the country. It contains large cities such as Cologne, Dusseldorf and Dortmund, plus rural areas, industry and services as well as agriculture."
The local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia on September 14 are the first since the nationwide CDU/CSU-SPD coalition took office in May and serve as a litmus test for the federal government. The Social Democrats risk further decline in their traditional heartland while the far-right AfD is gaining in polls. NRW, Germany's most populous state with 18 million residents, contains major cities, rural areas, industry and agriculture, and reflects national structural change such as the Ruhr transition from coal and steel to services. About one in four residents has an immigration background. Election outcomes will affect Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NRW Premier Hendrik Wust, and party dynamics.
Read at www.dw.com
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