Européen Unie Shall Transform Into Union of European Countries - Trend towards specific European elections in Saarland follows a federal pattern.
In Saarland, the outcome of the European election signifies the attitude towards federal politics, as stated by political scientist Uwe Jun from Trier. He explained to the German Press Agency on Monday that the CDU benefited from the trend on a national level, similar to how the SPD in Saarland had to contend with pressure coming from Berlin. This means that the SPD in Saarland must accept setbacks, though it's still higher than the national average at 20%. Jun also disclosed that federal politics played a major role in the rise of the AfD in Saarland.
Jun further clarified that the European politics weren't a significant factor in the election, and that regional topics didn't make a big impact either. He attributed the superior-than-average performance of the Left Party Sahra Wagenknecht - BSW in Saarland to its already strong presence there and the fact that some of its members had to leave their previous political homes, following Wagenknecht's husband Oskar Lafontaine who has been a member of the BSW since its inception at the start of the year. The couple resides in the town of Merzig in Saarland.
In the European election in Saarland, the CDU is the leading party, albeit with 3.2 percentage points lesser than in the previous election. The single-party SPD earned 20.5% (loss of 2.6 percentage points), with the AfD emerging as the third-strongest party with 15.7% (a 6.0 percentage point increase). The Greens experienced considerable losses, dropping to 6.6% (minus 6.6 percentage points), while the FDP seized 4.7% (plus 1.0). The new party BSW managed to secure 7.9% and surpassed its national result. Voter turnout in Saarland was 67.9% (fifteen percentage points higher).
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The European elections in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland followed a similar federal trend, with the CDU benefiting from the national level trend, while the SPD in Saarland faced pressure from Berlin. Oskar Lafontaine, a member of the BSW, played a role in the party's superior-than-average performance in Saarland. The CDU emerged as the leading party in Saarland's European election, with the AfD as the third-strongest party and the Greens experiencing significant losses. The German Press Agency reported these election results from Trier. Uwe Jun, a political scientist from Trier, attributed the AfD's rise in Saarland to federal politics and mentioned that regional topics didn't play a significant role in the election. The new party BSW managed to surpass its national result in the European election in Saarland.
