Berlin election: This is how the network reacts to the election evening – Söder wants "no left continue like this"

Germany

The CDU is the clear winner of the Berlin election night. It is unclear what this victory will have for the CDU top candidate Kai Wegner in the end. With around 28 percent in the projections, Wegner and his party have the SPD with the Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey and the Greens clearly distanced. But forming a coalition will be difficult.

Wegner is dependent on the willingness of one of the losing parties to cooperate, otherwise he could still get nothing in the end. Nevertheless, the CDU celebrates the election success and is confident.

Top candidate Kai Wegner has achieved a strong election result with the CDU. Image: www.imago-images.de / imago images

CDU is certain: Berlin does not want to “keep it up”

CDU chairman Friedrich Merz writes confidently on Twitter: “The result is clear: the CDU won the Berlin elections in 2023.” Berlin also won for him. Now the CDU wants to ensure that the “federal capital works better”.

For the party leader of the CSU, Markus Söder, one thing is certain: “Berlin wants the change and not left like this”. On Twitter he sends his congratulations to the election winner Wegner. The “left-wing government” was “clearly voted out” and according to him, Red-Red-Green is a coalition of the election losers.

CDU General Secretary Mario Czaja also agrees with Söder and tweets that Berlin no longer wants to “continue like this”. According to him, the government mandate clearly lies with Wegner and the Berlin CDU.

However, it is not that simple.

Red-Red-Green still has a majority in Parliament

Government mandate is where there is a majority in Parliament. The filmmaker and journalist Mario Sixtus also recalled this on Twitter. Red-Green-Red still has a majority after the election result, so according to Sixtus it was not voted out.

In addition, the CDU was hardly able to win over young voters – the future of Berlin. The young people put these in the hands of another party.

Young people are backing the Greens in Berlin

The Greens are the strongest party among Berliners under the age of 60. For the mayor of the federal city of Bonn, Katja Dörner, she is the “party of the future”. The Green politician lists the topics on Twitter that she believes are affecting the younger generation: climate protection, the turnaround in transport, cohesion.

The Green politician Emilia Fester obviously agrees with this opinion. She shares a graphic on Twitter that shows the CDU share of votes by age group compared to 2021. The CDU therefore votes for people over the age of 60 in particular. According to Fester, the CDU is the clear winner of the Berlin election, but: “She gets young people with her politics just not enough”. According to her, there can only be a “generational policy” with a “progressive” Red-Red-Green coalition.

One thing is clear: Without a coalition partner, even the election winner, the CDU, will get nothing. Could the Christian Democrats finally come to an agreement with the Greens and join forces?

Black-green: a possible scenario in the German capital

On the evening of the election, Wegner said he wanted to be “very open-minded” about the possibility of forming a coalition with both the SPD and the Greens over the next few days. A “stable government” in which “trustful” cooperation is important is important.

Greens lead candidate Bettina Jarasch and CDU lead candidate Kai Wegner could form a coalition.Image: imago / Mike Schmidt

Greens lead candidate Bettina Jarasch believes that a black-green coalition in Berlin is only possible if the CDU makes strong concessions. “There is no alliance among the Greens without a mobility and heating turnaround, without making Berlin really climate-neutral and without real tenant protection,” said Jarasch on Monday on RBB Inforadio.

However, the Greens politician emphasized again that she favors a continuation of the coalition of SPD, Greens and Left. The coalition agreement is a good basis for this. In view of the conceivably close election result, however, she expects a “really cooperative” approach, emphasized Jarasch.

(With material from the dpa)