Saxony and Brandenburg: East-West divide within the federal states

The established parties took a breath on election night. The worst case was missing: The AfD has become neither in Saxony nor in Brandenburg strongest force. In Saxony, the right-wing populists landed behind the CDU, in Brandenburg, the SPD got the most votes.

What was missing in the provinces altogether, is already a reality in a number of constituencies: Most of the votes went to the AfD. In Brandenburg districts such as Cottbus I and II or Frankfurt (Oder), the right-wing party brought both the direct client and most of the second votes; The same applies to Saxon constituencies such as Görlitz III and Bautzen IV.

A look at the election cards of the two countries shows: Even within the federal states, there is an east-west divide. It is true that the more easterly the bluer. The AfD achieved particularly good results in the eastern halves of Brandenburg and Saxony. How does that explain itself?

The crucial topics: infrastructure and security

Political scientist Hendrik Träger from the University of Leipzig considers two themes to be decisive: The eastern districts are infrastructural and economic on average worse off in both federal states. In addition, border crime plays a greater role at the borders with the Czech Republic and Poland than, say, in Leipzig or in Potsdam, according to SPIEGEL.

"It is not absolutely necessary that the crime in the respective regions is actually greater than in the big cities," says Träger. "It's about subjective or perceived security." Especially in Saxony, the AfD made with the topics of police, internal security and borders campaigning.

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In terms of infrastructure and the economy, the discussion about lignite mining in Lusatia played a major role in both provincial election campaigns. The AfD scored particularly well in brown coal mines. The right-wing populists are the only one of the larger parties who want to retain lignite as an energy source in the long term.

Depending on the constituency, voters also see other infrastructure issues - such as public transport or medical care - in Bautzen, Görlitz and other regions to the east, more people feel alone than in Leipzig or Chemnitz or in Potsdam or Brandenburg on the Havel. In addition, in the western halves of the two countries, the connection to the old federal states is better. So be someone who lives in the west of Brandenburg, quickly in Hamburg, Wolfsburg or Hanover.

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Constituency map for the state election: Black-blue Saxony

(An interactive constituency map for the state election in Saxony can be found here.)

"Even with the infrastructure, the AfD has campaigned in Saxony," says carrier. "She told the voters: The CDU has not taken enough care in recent decades."