Bundestag election will be repeated in parts of Berlin

No ballot papers, long queues: Conditions were sometimes chaotic in Berlin during the 2021 federal election. That’s why the election will be repeated today in 455 electoral districts. Impressions from an election campaign with many oddities.

Kevin Kühnert stands in the hallway of a 1960s building in Berlin-Tempelhof and rings the first bell. Doorstep election campaign is on the agenda, and no one will be quick to fool him. “The district has almost 20,000 eligible voters in this repeat election, and we certainly rang the bell for almost half of them,” he says.

The front door opens. The SPD general secretary starts: “Hello, my name is Kühnert, I am the Bundestag member in the district…”. “Well, I know you!” the resident interrupts him. A few pleasantries are quickly exchanged, Kühnert puts a brochure in the man’s hand and the tenant promises to go vote on Sunday. This is not a given.

Shifts in the final result are not expected

The question of why Berliners should vote today is not as easy to answer as it might seem at first glance. Because new elections will only take place in 455 of 2,256 electoral districts. For the rest, the result from 2021 still applies. The result: no major shifts in the final result are expected, and almost no impact on federal policy. Kühnert doesn’t care much about that, he says. He wants the best possible result for himself and his party.

“Hello, my name is Kühnert” – the next door, the next small talk. Many residents here are of retirement age and react friendly to visitors from federal politics. A resident even invites Kühnert in, shows him her apartment, where she has lived for more than 60 years, and talks about back then. It’s not even marginally about politics.

Tempelhof is what was once called a “working class district”. Lots of functional apartment buildings, no big city glamour. A few streets away, Kühnert’s party colleague Franziska Giffey is standing at an SPD stand. It’s a cold, wet February day. The former governing mayor hopes that “a signal” will be sent from the election results on Sunday. Just which one?

Berlin politicians are hoping for high prices voter turnout

Here or there a direct mandate could possibly be lost or the share of second votes could change slightly. Impact on the traffic light coalition or the majority in the Bundestag: none. However, politicians from all parties in Berlin have identified a danger for themselves: if voter turnout is very low, second vote mandates could go to other federal states – and Berlin MPs could therefore lose seats in parliament.

Politicians from other federal states would then sit in the seats, and Berlin would be less well represented. That still seems to be the most likely impact of the Berlin repeat election.

“People have so many other problems”

Does Giffey believe that Berliners will be motivated to vote by this? “No,” she answers immediately and laughs. “You know, people have so many other problems.” Instead, they would encounter a great deal of incomprehension about what this election is actually about. Many asked themselves: What sense did it make to vote again now when there would be another federal election next year? Giffey smiles, walks towards the next passers-by and continues to distribute flyers.

Hardly noticed election campaign

The end of the Berlin CDU’s election campaign takes place at a bus stop. Kai Wegner, the governing mayor, is welcomed by around 50 party supporters, with only a few passers-by stopping. It’s cold, the sky is gray and nobody really cares about the appointment on the street, or so it seems. The big political celebrities are missing – instead of party leader Friedrich Merz, CDU general secretary Carsten Linnemann and Bundestag member Philipp Amthor came.

“Major events make no sense in this election campaign. The election isn’t big enough for that. The other parties aren’t doing it either,” says Linnemann. There are a few more photos together, a few pithy words from Wegner against the federal traffic light coalition and then the election campaign is over. CDU candidate Monika Grütters summarizes that it was “spooky” at times. Casting votes almost without the public.

Absurdities on the ballot paper

In fact, the choice creates some absurdities. The reason is that it is a true repeat election. This means that the “federal election process” must be carried out again in as identical a manner as possible to the first attempt. A pure correction. Therefore, the year 2021 still prevails on the ballot papers. Here, for example, the SPD candidate Michael Müller is still the governing mayor of Berlin by profession – and is not yet a member of the Bundestag.

And people who only moved to one of the affected electoral districts after Election Day 2021 are allowed to mark their cross again – even though they may have already voted two and a half years ago. New voters who were not yet eligible to vote at the time are now allowed to vote.

Posters against the traffic lights

Meanwhile, the Left is putting up posters against “the traffic light” – a federal government that didn’t even exist in 2021. The list of minor and major oddities could be continued, but politicians from all parties agree that nothing can be done about it. Something else unites the candidates: the hope that there will be no mishaps this time. Kühnert laughs when asked about it. He is confident:

The next bell, the same greeting, Kühnert again informs us that Sunday is election day. “Yes, thank you, we know. We’re going there,” says the resident, takes the brochure and says goodbye. Kühnert nods happily and presses the next bell.

With material by Martin Polansky, ARD Capital Studio