Hamburg sees Greens emerge victorious in European polls despite significant setbacks.

Voting Process - Hamburg sees the Green Party victorious in European elections despite significant setbacks.

In the European election held in Hamburg, the Greens experienced noticeable setbacks, receiving only 21.2% of the votes, a decrease of 9.9 percentage points compared to five years ago. The SPD witnessed small losses of 1.1 percentage points and ranked second with 18.7%, while the CDU witnessed a slight improvement of 0.7 percentage points, acknowledging 18.4%. The AfD scored 8.0% with a 1.5 percentage point increase, the FDP attained 7.0% with a 1.4% increase, and the Left dropped to 5.1% with a 1.9 percentage point decrease. The newly formed Volt party showed promise with 6.0% representation. The Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht left at 4.9%.

As stated by Oliver Rudolf, the state election officer, the voter turnout was 65.7%, marking a 3.8 percentage point increase compared to the previous election in 2019. The votes for the simultaneous district council election were not announced on Sunday night. The process of counting these votes was initially planned for Monday morning.

In a combined evaluation conducted by ARD and ZDF on Sunday evening, it was predicted that the Union would experience a slight increase to 30.2-30.3%, up from 28.9% in 2019. The AfD recorded its best-ever result in a nationwide vote with 15.9%, yet falling short of anticipated values. In Eastern Germany, the AfD is undoubtedly the dominant force. The SPD experienced a sharp decline to 13.9-14%, after campaigning with Chancellor Olaf Scholz as a headliner. The Greens also witnessed a drop to 11.9%, down from 20.5% in 2019. The FDP, on the other hand, incurred minimal losses at 5-5.1%.

The Left achieved its poorest performance in European elections, landing at a dismal 2.7% (up from 5.5). The BSW gained from zero with 6%. The Free Voters kept steady at 2.7% (2.2%), and the Volt party remained at 2.5% (0.7%).

Following the preliminary calculations, it seems unlikely that Hamburg will hold representation in the European Parliament other than the FDP's Svenja Hahn, given her secure position in the federal list at place two. The Hamburg Volt candidate, Nela Riehl, may also have a chance. Concurrently, Hamburg candidates from the Greens, SPD, CDU, Left, and AfD struggle to secure seats in the European Parliament again.

Leon Alam, the state chairman of the Greens in Hamburg, expressed disappointment with the result. "This is genuinely bitter for Rosa Domm and for Greens in Hamburg", he said, acknowledging their hopes for something more. However, he claimed, "This shows that we do good political work in Hamburg and that voters recognize that." Hamburg Second Mayor Katharina Fegebank found comfort in their successful defense of first place in a challenging election. "This is a good result and will give us momentum for the upcoming citizens' assembly election."

The SPD expressed dissatisfaction with their outcome. "We have merely maintained at an unsatisfactory level", stated Melanie Leonhard, the party's state chair. "But this is not something a German social democracy should aim for." The SPD failed to redirect attention to their European political issues. Since the European election in Germany regularly mirrors federal politics, the traffic light parties must now re-evaluate their communication strategy and collaborative policies.

The CDU's objective was to enhance their positioning. This ambition was accomplished in Hamburg, said Dennis Thering, the party's state chairman. "We are keeping pace with the federal CDU and are thus satisfied." It has been customary for the CDU to underperform in Hamburg compared to the federal level. In light of the Bürgerschaft election occurring in the near future, a substantial gap separates the SPD, Greens, and CDU. "We have worked hard for four and a half years to compete with the SPD and Greens again. We have achieved that."

As a result of the severe losses, the Left was in grim spirits. "This is indeed a very bitter result and is naturally disappointing", explained the state chairwoman, Sabine Ritter. Known for their secession process from the Alliance of Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), the party has suffered greatly. "Sadly, we must conclude that a noticeable shift to the right has taken place in Europe, including Germany."

The AfD's state chairman, Dirk Nockemann, declared, "We are always somewhere in the range of half of the federal trend" in Hamburg. They managed to improve on the result from 2019 "and have evidently surpassed the FDP and the Left." This is indeed a "respectable outcome", according to Nockemann. He added, "However, the result on a national level is dismal."

Carola Veit, President of the Bürgerschaft, celebrated the larger voter turnout. "It would be nice if the people remained", she expressed to dpa. In the coming year, more voting opportunities will present themselves with the Bürgerschaft as well as the Federal election. "With the Bürgerschaft election and the federal election, there will be further ballot boxes filled with challenging issues to tackle."