State elections in Lower Saxony: An election campaign without much fighting

Status: 07.10.2022 15:29

A largely silent election campaign ends in Lower Saxony. There were no mishaps or laughs at the wrong time, it wasn’t about national political issues – it was sometimes a tightrope act for the campaigning parties.

By Mandy Sarti, NDR Landespolitik Hannover

It was already clear in March that this state election campaign would be different: one month after the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Bernd Althusmann was elected the top candidate of the Lower Saxony CDU. Instead of sharp political tips against the party competition, the focus was on solidarity with Ukraine.

Not only for the CDU, but also for the SPD, Greens and FDP, it was quickly clear that they wanted to stand together even in this crisis. Fewer political moves, more “democratic coming together,” as Green Party candidate Julia Willie Hamburg said in the summer. Election programs written at the end of last year were put back into the drawers – because of the energy crisis they have lost their topicality. Instead, from now on it is about energy, poverty and inflation. Topics for which there is little scope for decision-making at state political level.

Tightrope act for Greens and FDP

“In such a time, the political issues in the state recede into the background and of course the question is what the answers to these diverse crises are,” said FDP top candidate Stefan Birkner with conviction. Both parties relied more than usual on support from federal politics and explained the course that the traffic light coalition in Berlin is taking. And that sometimes became a tightrope act. Because while the FDP and the Greens in Lower Saxony act from the opposition role, they help shape the federal level. How much criticism is possible, how much criticism is necessary? Especially since the performance of the traffic light is increasingly seen as unsatisfactory. Berlin is therefore more likely to have a headwind than a tailwind.

Green candidate Willie Hamburg knows: “We are already seeing that this time there will be a federal election.” People in Lower Saxony are more interested in how expensive winter and energy bills will be – whether there will eventually be a lack of gas for their own heating. The Greens therefore tried to take the state government into account, they called for state programs to cushion the consequences of the Russian war of aggression.

End of the silent government

Fate also hits the CDU top candidate Althusmann – only the other way around. In Berlin the Christian Democrats are in the opposition, in Lower Saxony part of the government. Althusmann, after all Deputy Prime Minister and Economics Minister in Lower Saxony – has therefore developed into a traffic light critic. The SPD, led by Prime Minister Stephan Weil, was occasionally annoyed by this – the silent government that had been the strategy of the red-black cabinet for the past five years had become almost impossible.

Althusmann became increasingly aggressive in the course of the election campaign and primarily targeted Weil, who was still in the coalition and their top candidate. The CDU politician is fighting for a government under his leadership after the election, and election campaigns don’t work without noise. But it still didn’t get that loud.

Political partners and competitors: Stephan Weil and Bernd Althusmann

Image: dpa

No glitches, no mistimed laughs

There were no glitches, no clumsiness, no images of top candidates laughing at the wrong time. Instead, recordings of politicians in front of nuclear power plants, wind farms, LNG locations – where federal political music is playing, the top candidates from Lower Saxony also appear.

“Of course I would prefer it if we also talked about national political issues, but I can’t choose it myself,” said Weil about the course of the election campaign. And added: “From the point of view of the citizens, I find it absolutely understandable that we are now talking about the topic of energy. And I also think it’s right that they expect the Prime Minister to answer their questions.”

But over time, the main impression was that the top candidates wanted to get the election campaign over with as quickly as possible. Problems such as rising energy and food prices, people’s insecurity and fears for the future seem too big for election campaign noise and party bickering.

The fear of price increases and energy shortages could play into the hands of the AfD. Ironically, one of its most fractious state associations could bring the party its first electoral success this year.

source site