The opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leads the local government elections in the German capital Berlin with 27.5% of the vote, European media reported on Sunday, citing exit polls.
According to their data, the Social Democratic Party of Germany of the current German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, was defeated with 18.5% of the vote. The Green Party gets roughly the same number of votes.
It is noted that for the first time for 20 years the CDU has won the most votes in Berlinwhile the Social Democrats’ result in the German capital is the party’s worst in decades.
The results of these elections and the coalition negotiations will determine the new mayor of the capital and the composition of the Chamber of Deputies in Berlin.
The previous elections in the German capital were held in autumn 2021, but the Constitutional Court declared the results invalid after a series of complaints from political parties and new elections were ordered.
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The European media note that the results of the local elections in Berlin show the trends that have been observed at the national level in Germany in recent months – the deterioration of the positions of the Social Democratic Party and the strengthening of the conservative opposition.
“Figaro” writes that the vote took place against the background of high inflation in the country, the debate on arms supplies to Ukraine and the increasing flow of immigrants to Germany.
The Associated Press reported that Berliners’ main issues at the time of the vote were rising rent prices and dissatisfaction with the education system.
