- After the eastern elections, Baldauf advocates for Scholz's departure from office.
The leader of the CDU in Rhineland-Palatinate is pushing for Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to step down after the preliminary outcomes of the elections in Saxony and Thuringia. Baldauf stated, "All three parties in the traffic light coalition have been penalized. Chancellor Scholz must now announce his departure." The coalition of SPD, FDP, and Greens in the federal government is unsustainable and is harming democracy, according to Baldauf.
Now, it's the CDU's job to prevent a coalition with the AfD in Saxony and Thuringia. In a nutshell, these election results are a political catastrophe. Baldauf will only remain as state chairman for a short while longer, as a new leader will be chosen at a party meeting in Frankenthal on September 21.
The AfD in Rhineland-Palatinate celebrated the election results. According to Jan Bollinger, the state and faction chairman, "In the east, the AfD has transformed into a people's party with state results surpassing the 30 percent mark, and there's no escaping it." "The other parties are urged to abandon their undemocratic barrier, return to fair party competition, and ultimately respect the will of the citizens," Bollinger added.
The Greens in Rhineland-Palatinate described the results as a "democratic shockwave." The state leaders Natalie Cramme-Hill and Paul Bunjes stated that the results are not only surprising for the Greens.
In Thuringia, projections on Sunday evening suggested that the AfD became the strongest party in the state election. In Saxony, the AfD also gained ground and is in a close race with the CDU for first place.
The CDU in Saxony is determined to stop a coalition with the AfD, recognizing the potential impact of their rise in the elections. This stance contrasts with the celebration of the AfD's success in Thuringia and their perceived transformation into a people's party, as stated by Jan Bollinger, the chair of the AfD in Rhineland-Palatinate.
