Upcoming European balloting events - The CDU emerges as the leading party in European elections in the northern region, while the Greens secure third place.
In the upcoming week, the results of the European elections are anticipated to spark debates in the northern region. Come Monday, the parties will scrutinize the figures and, needless to say, ponder the implications of the European election outcomes for Schleswig-Holstein.
The CDU headed by Minister President Daniel Günther has emerged as the dominant force in the north, securing 30.2% of the votes on Sunday, per preliminary regional results. "We've climbed back to the top spot," announced Schleswig-Holstein's CDU top candidate Niclas Herbst at the party's election bash in Kiel.
Herbst, who's served as the CDU's epresentative in the European Parliament since 2019 and is slated to return, is eager to witness the final tally on Monday morning. He plans to head straight to Brussels on Monday, as pivotal decisions concerning staffing are slated for Tuesday. His faction is eager to act decisively.
The Greens, who held the top spot in Schleswig-Holstein in 2019, ended up in third place. They saw a decline of 13.7 percentage points in comparison to the previous election and garnered 15.4%. They had been the strongest force in the northernmost federal state back in 2019, stemming from a 29.1% share of the vote. The AfD made substantial gains in the north, improving their standing by 4.7 percentage points to 12.2%. They have now become the fourth strongest force in the region.
The SPD tallied a 16.7% (2019: 17.1%) share of the votes in the north, the FDP earned a 6.3% (5.9%), the Volt Party drew 2.5%, and the Left Party yielded 2.3% (3.7%). BSW earned 4.1% uninitially. This marks a historically dismal moment for the Social Democrats in the context of a European election in Schleswig-Holstein.
Voter turnout increased markedly from the 59.8% recorded five years ago to reach 64.4% in this round.
Roughly 2.318 million voters were invited to cast their ballots in Schleswig-Holstein. For the first time, 16- and 17-year-olds were allowed to vote in the European election. Some 107,400 citizens residing in other EU member countries were also eligible to vote in the north. A total of 34 parties' candidates vied for seats in the elections.
720 MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) were elected. Germany currently fields 96 men and women in the parliament, which convenes in both Strasbourg and Brussels. In the 2019 vote, four Schleswig-Holstein representatives were elected: one from the CDU, one from the Greens, one from the SPD, and one from the Pirate Party.
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- Daniel Günther, the CDU's leader in Schleswig-Holstein, expressed satisfaction after his party emerged as the leading force in the European elections in the northern region.
- Following the EU elections, politicians from major parties like the CDU and the Greens will travel to Brussels for pivotal discussions in the European Parliament.
- As the EU election results reveal a strong showing for the CDU in Schleswig-Holstein, EU Commissioner Manfred Weber, a CDU member, may provide his support to Daniel Günther's potential role in European politics.
- AfD, which saw a 4.7 percentage point increase in the north, may gain influence in the European Parliament, particularly in areas like immigration and asylum debates.
- In Hamburg, the SPD, although experiencing a slight decline in votes compared to the 2019 EU elections, is still expected to maintain a significant presence in the European Parliament as one of Germany's largest parties.
- The turnout for the European elections in urban municipalities like Flensburg and Lübeck was remarkably higher than five years ago, reflecting a growing interest in European politics among residents.
- With three new Members of the European Parliament coming from Schleswig-Holstein, including a CDU representative from Kiel and a Green representative from Hamburg, citizens are anticipating increased representation and influence for their region on the European stage.
