parties
Final spurt in the Hessian state election campaign
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, also the top candidate of the SPD Hesse, at a rally in Marburg. photo
© Christian Lademann/dpa
On Sunday, Hesse will elect a new state parliament. One day before, parties and candidates canvass for votes again. A message from Berlin brings momentum to the election campaign finale.
The answer came promptly from Hesse and the general secretary of the Hesse SPD, Christoph Degen, found sharp words: “A few hours before the state elections in Hesse, Friedrich Merz abused the German judiciary for the CDU’s election campaign maneuvers,” said Degen. “The CDU in the federal government, in the person of Friedrich Merz, is concentrating on discrediting the traffic light coalition in Berlin and with it the Federal Interior Minister and top candidate of the Hesse SPD, Nancy Faeser, wherever possible.”
With a view to the state elections in Hesse on Sunday, “this move by the CDU has a bad aftertaste,” Degen said. “Instead of currently agreeing on the values of a peaceful, cosmopolitan, tolerant society and fighting for democracy, the CDU is campaigning without style.”
Appeals, protective shields and firewalls
Meanwhile, the parties in Hesse were still at the last election campaign events. The Hessian SPD top candidate and Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faden appealed to people to take a stand against the right in the state elections. “Definitely vote democratically tomorrow,” she said in Marburg. “With social democracy there is no wobbling to the right. Our firewall to the right is always there.”
SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert also stated that the vast majority of people are worried that “democracy is slipping.” Anyone who is angry about something “and is ready to take revenge for throwing basic principles of democracy and humanity overboard must vote on the far right and thus drive the car really into the wall.”
Faeser explained that the SPD was the only party “that has always been on the right side of the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.” “Where is this Prime Minister’s protective shield for the AfD?” Faeser added, referring to statements made by Hesse’s Prime Minister Boris Rhein (CDU), who during the election campaign announced a protective shield against the federal government’s traffic light coalition made up of the SPD, Greens and FDP .
At the same time, Rhein had clearly ruled out an alliance with the AfD: not only a firewall, but also a “very deep gap” separated the CDU from the AfD. The Greens also marched through Hesse’s city centers on Saturday in the fight for the last votes, as could be seen on Instagram.
Appearance by Alice Weidel
The AfD met in the evening for the “election campaign finale” in Wiesbaden, accompanied by, according to the police, almost 1,000 loud counter-demonstrators. According to the police, federal boss Alice Weidel shouted in front of several hundred listeners: “Vote for change tomorrow!” The AfD wants to turn Germany “upside down” in its “migration crisis”, “energy crisis” and “crisis of internal and external security”.
According to Weidel, the federal and state governments in Hesse are governing “against their own population” because a clear majority is against heating laws, car combustion bans, the shutdown of nuclear power plants and gender. The AfD is committed to direct citizens’ votes on such issues. It would put a stop to the policy of “open borders” for refugees.
Weidel had previously canceled an election campaign date in the Bavarian-Thuringian border town of Mödlareuth – according to his own statements for security reasons. According to the AfD, there had recently been indications of a possible imminent attack. Weidel and her family then temporarily stayed in Mallorca in order to gain some distance from the events.
The Hessian AfD leader Robert Lambrou announced on Friday: “We are pleased that Alice Weidel is taking the risk to support us in the election campaign final on Saturday, despite the threat situation.” A police spokesman said afterwards that there had previously been no indications “of any special incidents” in Wiesbaden. From a police perspective, the deployment of several hundred officers in the evening was successful.
Around 4.3 million Hessians are called on Sunday to elect a new state parliament. According to the latest polls, the CDU, led by Prime Minister and top candidate Boris Rhein, is the clear favorite in the election. The Christian Democrats can expect to become the strongest force again. Behind them, a close race for second place is expected between the SPD, the Greens and the AfD. A black-green coalition currently governs Hesse.