The citizens in the constituencies of Munich-Land and Starnberg want to have a say and they also want to be part of the decision-making process. 84.8 percent of those entitled to vote made use of their voting rights in the Bundestag election. This puts the Munich-Land constituency in first place in a nationwide comparison – ahead of Cologne II with 84.5 percent and Starnberg, Landsberg, Germering with 84.3. Four years ago, 83.9 percent of those eligible to vote ticked the box.
“Yes, the constituency can really be proud of its turnout,” says Ursula Münch, director of the Academy for Political Education in Tutzing. For the political science professor, this shows the great interest, but also the responsible behavior of the citizens. “Apparently the widely spread and correct message was understood that voting is a reasonable form of participation,” she says. And she also finds it gratifying that, overall, “the broad political center has been strengthened and the extreme fringes are not well received”. For Münch, it is clear that behind the rush at the polls there is the finding from electoral research that “educationally and materially better-off strata” tend to vote more than those who are socially weaker. This also applies to participation in politics in general. “There are an above-average number of these resourced citizens in the constituency.”
Münch attributes the above-average plus of the Greens by five points in Starnberg to the particularly high level of interest in green topics; in Munich-Land the Greens even increased six percent to 18.5 percent. In addition, they believe that the Greens benefit for the same reasons that have increased voter turnout. “They are still not a people’s party, but mainly appeal to those with a higher level of formal education and better earners,” says the political scientist.
And there is more of this group in the constituency. The director of the Center for Applied Political Research at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Werner Weidenfeld, was also impressed by the extraordinarily high voter turnout in the Munich-Land and Starnberg constituencies. “That’s a positive sign,” he says. “Apparently the alternative has become clear to the people. You don’t turn away, you want to keep the future lovable and worth living in.” Weidenfeld sees one reason for this in the growing fear of the future. As soon as the election campaign offered indications of problem-solving in this regard, the people also went to the polls and wanted to help reduce their fear of the future.
And with reference to the age structure in the Munich area, the professor says: “Older people in particular are particularly concerned because they have a feeling for everything that can be lost.” The constituency is in “many components in a particularly good condition, so the people here also have a lot to lose”. By particularly “good condition”, Weidenfeld understands not only the beautiful landscape, but also the economic conditions. “And you don’t want to lose that.” Weidenfeld himself lives in Neuried, in the western part of the Munich district. The political scientist, publicist and SPD strategist Johano Strasser lives in Berg am Starnberger See. He is pleased that his party did well in the federal election. But he is also concerned that the Social Democrats, the Greens and the FDP, need two coalition partners. “And the FDP will mercilessly exploit its key role,” he is convinced of that.
In the Isar Valley, where Baierbrunn is the municipality that is once again characterized by the highest voter turnout in the district, the SPD traditionally has a hard time. Greens and FDP are strong here, although Florian Hahn (CSU) was able to increase the first votes against the trend compared to 2017. The small municipality with around 3400 inhabitants can be seen as exemplary in terms of democratic participation and has been waiting for years for its citizens to vote with high frequency. After 89.91 percent in the last federal election, this time it was even 90.8 percent. “A great result, which even surpassed the incredibly good result of 2017,” enthuses Mayor Patrick Ott (ÜWG). The same applies to Baierbrunn: The citizens tend to be wealthy, academically educated and politically interested. A relatively large number of young families live in the community who have a strong ecological awareness. Club life is lively, and a noticeable sense of community apparently also encourages people to exercise the basic democratic virtue of voting.