On election evenings it has not been that empty in the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus for some time, which at least leads to enough bratwurst, bratel with sauerkraut and onion cake for those present. It was elected in Thuringia, so there are as always country-typical dishes. The mood in the foyer of the party headquarters slips deep into the basement, as Secretary General Paul Ziemiak raises his short statement at half past six with a grave voice: He speaks of a "bitter day" for Thuringia and the CDU - but "we fight together and we lose together".
About 22 percent in Thuringia: A disaster for the CDU, which had won the local state election 20 years ago by an absolute majority. Top candidate Mike Mohring wanted to become Prime Minister, and now that. It is the historically worst CDU result in the Free State.
But what should the Social Democrats say first? They are just over eight percent in their native Thuringia. In the neighboring state of Saxony it was less than two months ago, even a few tenths less - and in the Berlin SPD headquarters invited to state elections except journalists no one else.
So it is after this election Sunday to the GroKo parties CDU and SPD. To describe the mood with the word Tristesse would be a beautification. And then comes CSU General Secretary Markus Blume. "Today Thuringia is ungovernable," he says in view of the unclear majority.
But is the government of the three parties in the league still there? Just a week lies behind the GroKo, in the CDU-Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer duped with their northern Syria proposal both coalition partners. The CSU finally supported the chairman of the sister party, the SPD bravely opposed it, and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas flew to Ankara on Saturday to dismiss the proposal together with the Turkish foreign minister.
"It was the expected heavy election campaign for the CDU under very difficult federal policy sign," said the Berlin party chairman and federal executive Kai Wegner on the Thuringian result. The GroKo has missed in recent weeks to improve the mood among the Thuringia for CDU and SPD. The best example of this is the basic pension. Both parties could have scored points in view of the often incomplete East German employment biographies in Thuringia on this issue, but an agreement is still pending.
State election Thuringia 2019
ARD | ZDF
Extrapolation ARD, 23.02 clock
Second vote result
Shares in percent
CDU
21.8
-11.7
The left
31
+2.8
SPD
8.2
-4.2
AFD
23.4
+12.8
green
5.2
-0.5
FDP
5
+2.5
other
5.4
-1.7
allocation of seats
Total: 90
Majority: 46 seats
29
8th
5
5
21
22
The Left (29)
SPD (8)
Green (5)
FDP (5)
CDU (21)
AfD (22)
Source: ARD / Infratest Dimap
Extrapolation ZDF, 10:39 pm
Second vote result
Shares in percent
CDU
21.8
-11.7
The left
31
+2.8
SPD
8.2
-4.2
AFD
23.5
+12.9
green
5.2
-0.5
FDP
5
+2.5
other
5.3
-1.8
allocation of seats
Total: 90
Majority: 46 seats
29
8th
5
5
21
22
The Left (29)
SPD (8)
Green (5)
FDP (5)
CDU (21)
AfD (22)
Source: ZDF / Research Group Elections
Results in detail
And now there are new debates for the CDU and the SPD. It is clear that the bankruptcy in Thuringia further weakens the position of party leader Kramp-Karrenbauer among the Christian Democrats. But after the Thuringia election, the CDU is also in a new strategic debate: Although Secretary General Ziemiak renewed the appointment of his party that evening, according to which a coalition with Left Party such as AfD is excluded. While the CDU and AfD would theoretically have no majority in the new Thuringian state parliament, this would be the case with the left of Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow.
Even a toleration of the Left Party had excluded top candidate Mohring before the election, in the evening he sounded not quite so absolutely. In order to be in a position to agree with the left in semi-stable conditions? This would pose great potential for conflict for the Federal CDU. Rhetorical overtures by, among others, Schleswig-Holstein's Prime Minister Daniel Günther to the Left had drawn heavy criticism in the past.
Helplessness at the SPD
And in the SPD the frustration keeps growing. The party has suffered from the polarization between Ramelow and the AfD, says interim boss Malu Dreyer. In the federal SPD, a certain amount of helplessness spreads over how the party can end its defeat series in elections. Especially in the east and south of the republic, it is now about existence.
Dominant topics of the coming weeks are the search for new party leaders and the handling of GroKo. Both are directly related. Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Klara Geywitz are indeed in the ballot for the party presidency. Their result in the first round of the member survey was not intoxicating. With 22.68 percent Scholz and Geywitz were only about 3500 votes before Norbert Walter Borjans and Saskia Esken, which belong to the camp of GroKo critics.
In video: The Election Evening in Thuringia
Martin rubble / DPA
The desire for a new beginning is quite common in the SPD. But is this really the salvation of the party? There is also the fear that a decision against Scholz / Geywitz and thus possibly against the GroKo could accelerate the crash of the party.
Crucial now is that the coalition in the coming weeks a better picture than last, it says in the party.
In fact, it can hardly get any worse.
