parties
Söder calls for the abolition of the new federal election law
Markus Söder sees the Union well positioned for 2024. photo
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
“The CSU can only participate in government if the changes to the electoral law are reversed. That is a basic condition for a coalition,” says CSU leader Markus Söder.
The CSU boss wants the new federal election law to be abolished Markus Söder and his party will never enter into a federal coalition again. “The CSU can only participate in government if the changes to the electoral law are reversed. That is a basic condition for a coalition,” said the Bavarian Prime Minister of the German Press Agency in Munich.
The Union is hoping for a supreme court decision on the amendment to electoral law in 2024. The traffic light factions decided on the reform in the summer despite the Union’s vehement resistance. They justified this with the intention of wanting to reduce the size of the Bundestag. With currently 736 members, the Bundestag is the largest freely elected parliament in the world. The new electoral law now caps the number of seats at 630.
Second vote result
According to the amendment, elections will continue to be with first and second votes. However, there are no longer any overhang or compensation mandates. In the future, the number of seats a party will have will only be determined by its second vote result. This can result in successful constituency candidates not receiving their direct mandate. The basic mandate clause is also no longer applicable. According to her, parties have so far entered the Bundestag based on the strength of their second vote result even if they were below the five percent hurdle but won at least three direct mandates.
If the CSU ends up below the 5 percent threshold in the election, it would no longer be represented in the Bundestag, even if it wins almost all direct mandates in Bavaria, as in the last federal election. In order for the judgment to still be relevant for the federal election, the decision would have to be made as soon as possible in 2024. So far, no timetable is known from Karlsruhe.
Söder sees the Union in a good position for 2024, more united than it has been for a long time and immediately capable of governing: “We are way ahead in the surveys and are about as strong as all three traffic light parties combined. People trust us to solve the country’s problems best. ” On the other hand, the traffic light is completely at odds and is no longer able to keep its own agreements. “It would therefore make sense for the Chancellor to ask the population for their trust.” Söder once again called for early elections on June 9th together with the European elections.