European Union - European election results: AfD content, Greens and SPD dejected
Excitement for the AfD, disillusionment for the SPD and the Greens: Preliminary outcomes from the European vote in Saxony on Sunday show an advantage for the AfD. AfD state leader Jörg Urban was already quite content with his party's showing in the evening. "We've become the second most powerful force in Germany," he exclaimed on Sunday night. This was especially pleasing to him. "It's also good that the Greens have experienced a substantial setback." Saxony's Green Party leader, Anna Cavazzini, acknowledged that her party would not be satisfied with the outcome. "We failed to achieve our potential significantly." Now it's time to examine how her party can further influence society with its concerns in the future.
Just before 8:00 PM, the state election commission's website revealed results from 79 of 418 municipalities. These only represented about 5 percent of eligible voters. Major shifts were still possible since there were no results from the three largest cities of Leipzig, Dresden, and Chemnitz yet. So far, the AfD had attained 41.4 percent (2019: 25.3). In second and third place were the CDU with 24.2 percent (23.0) and the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), making its debut and earning 12.0 percent. In fourth and fifth spots were the SPD with 4.7 percent (8.6) and the Free Voters with 3.0 (2.9), and the Left with 2.9 (11.7). The co-ruling Greens acquiesced to a mere 2.0 percent (10.3).
The SPD candidate for Saxony, Matthias Ecke, could not be happy with the outcome for his party after the first projections. Ecke was targeted during the Dresden campaign and was hospitalized. "This was the most rigorous campaign we've ever faced - with verbal and physical attacks. That's a challenge for democracy. We need to grasp this situation seriously and work on it so that we can draw the essential lessons for the future."
Ecke was also happy about his projected re-election to the European Parliament and the increased voter turnout. He had a different view on the AfD result. The AfD had lagged behind the interim polling figures but had gained votes. It's now up to the other parties to concoct suitable strategies to counteract it: "We also notice that the expansion of the AfD has boundaries."
In Saxony, a total of 3.3 million individuals were called to cast their votes on Sunday between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM. Apart from electing the new European Parliament, local councils were also elected. Approximately 3,600 polling stations were available for that. At the European election, 16-year-olds were also permitted to vote.
