Reactions in the federal government to the state election: tailwind, frustration and jubilation

After the election victory in Lower Saxony, the SPD also sees the work of the traffic light coalition in the federal government confirmed. The picture is the opposite for the FDP. The CDU is sobered. The Greens now want to have a say in Lower Saxony.

The SPD is very happy about the victory in the state elections in Lower Saxony – also at the federal level. General Secretary Kevin Kühnert praised in the ARDthe state party and its chairman, Minister-President Stephan Weil, had “brought a really great result out of their own strength”.

But there is also “tailwind for the difficult time that is now ahead of us” for the traffic light coalition in the federal government. SPD, Greens and FDP would have brought together a majority. Other parties had “made an anti-traffic light election campaign”. With a view to the good performance of the AfD, they should ask themselves “whether they didn’t ultimately strengthen the wrong people with the nagging they’ve shown in the past few weeks.”

The Greens-Spitzer is particularly pleased about what is possibly the best result so far in Lower Saxony – “despite adverse circumstances,” said party leader Omid Nouripour in the ARD. His co-chairman Ricarda Lang said: “In my view, it is a task that we also assume responsibility in Lower Saxony.” One stands ready for talks for a red-green government.

CDU: “Not a nice result”

The CDU, on the other hand, was disillusioned – hopes that the traffic light’s poor reputation in the federal government would translate into an election victory in the state were not fulfilled. “It’s not a nice result, we don’t have to talk about it, we wanted a different election goal,” said General Secretary Mario Czaja in the ARD. SPD top candidate Weil has succeeded in detaching himself from the national trend. “He didn’t repeat North Rhine-Westphalia’s mistake of going to a poster with the Chancellor.” That’s why the official bonus took effect.

The deputy federal chairwoman of the CDU, Silvia Breher, admitted in the ARD comments by party leader Friedrich Merz on “social tourism” by Ukrainian refugees “certainly didn’t help.”

FDP voters “strange with the traffic light”

FDP leader Christian Lindner describes the poor performance in the Lower Saxony elections as a “setback for the FDP”. “We wanted the politics of the center to be strengthened,” he says on ZDF. “In Hanover it now looks like a left-wing majority.” This is also due to the fact that the CDU campaigned against the FDP and not against red-green. His Liberals could not have given any tailwind to federal politics from the traffic light coalition. “Many of our supporters are strangers to this coalition,” says Lindner.

The deputy FDP federal chairman Wolfgang Kubicki said in the ARD, there are currently no sensible answers to current problems such as the war against Ukraine and the energy supply. “We’ll have to work on that, or this traffic light will get into rough water.”

Cheering at the AfD

Great is the jubilation at the AfD. They appeared united and set the right topics, said party leader Tino Chrupalla in the ARD. “We are back.” The fact that voters chose the AfD out of dissatisfaction is part of the opposition’s job.

Left leader Janine Wissler has expressed disappointment at the poor performance of her party. She was combative. There will be at least three state elections next year, and preparations will be made for them. “We need a strong left-wing opposition in parliament, not only at federal level but also in the federal states, and that’s what we’re fighting for.”