Debacle in Hamburg and Erfurt: Greens politicians attack the CDU - and make fun of the party

The 2020 elections in Hamburg will be seen as a mood for German parties. Especially after the election debacle in Thuringia, there could be severe losses for some parties.

• The 2020 electoral election is considered a special election, as a mood barometer after the Thuringia debacle *.
• The FDP even has to tremble for entry into the Hamburg parliament.
• That’s the reactions.

7:56 pm: Michael Kellner, federal manager of the Greens, makes fun of the CDU in the “Berliner Runde” on ARD. The Greens, he believes, on the other hand have no embarrassment: "We reached for gold and received silver." And further: "The CDU is reminiscent of HSV" - just "only second class"

19:19: The AfD federal politician Stephan Brandner apparently does not really want to recognize the election result in Hamburg . At the same time, he also calls on his party friends to persevere. One should rely on "many millions of Thuringians, Saxony and Brandenburgers". What are "some hamburgers"? "Pathetic and desperate at the same time," countered the Greens politician Dieter Janecek on Twitter. "Perhaps one should explain to Mr. Brandner that even in the state of Thuringia, which has a population of 2.1 million, not" millions "voted for AfD. The next AfD clap comes by the way in the local elections in Bavaria (13 million inhabitants)! ”

Pathetic and desperate at the same time. Perhaps one should explain to Mr. Brandner that even in the 2.1 million inhabitants of the state of Thuringia, “millions” #AfD did not vote. The next # AfD swatter comes by the way in the local elections in Bavaria (13 million inhabitants)! https://t.co/v2HcLrSxWJ

A user suspects that the AfD in Hamburg has not lost voters. Rather, the high turnout had led to the probably devastating result of the party in Hamburg. According to the user, this should give reason to think especially after the right-wing terrorist attack in "Hanau".

The #AfD flies out of its citizenship, but is unlikely to lose many voters. In the first place, the higher turnout has pushed the party below 5 percent. According to #Hanau this should give cause for concern. #HamburgWahl #Hamburg pic.twitter.com/IHJ5xiJg3e

Hamburg reactions: Prime Minister is harsh criticism - CDU gives people "no clear hold"

7:11 p.m .: Schleswig-Holstein's Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) sees the reason for the CDU's election defeat in Hamburg in the leadership crisis of the Federal Party. "For us as a Union there is nothing to gloss over, that's a historically bad result," said Günther on Sunday evening on ZDF. The Hamburg CDU had the strongest headwind in the election campaign: "This headwind was a hurricane, even in the election campaign, the CDU Hamburg had nothing to oppose."

His announcement to the federal party is therefore clear: Open questions in Berlin should be clarified as soon as possible. This includes above all the management question, but also the further course with a view of Thuringia . "The situation in Thuringia has been desperate in the past few weeks," Günther criticized. "A deceiving Union, which does not give people a clear hold and shows no clear perspectives, is also an obstacle for party friends on the ground in the election campaign."

This must now be discussed openly with one another and the situation must be resolved as quickly as possible. With a view to Thuringia , he strongly recommends that the CDU should not reintroduce itself too much with its own decisions at the federal level. The best thing in Thuringia would be new elections as soon as possible after the CDU missed other opportunities to show responsibility.

“Now we are in the difficult situation that some of us have to vote for Bodo Ramelow . We put ourselves in this situation, ”said Günther. "I recommend everyone not to stand in the way of a solution in Thuringia." It must always apply: first the country, then the party, then the person.

Reactions to the Hamburg election in 2020: FDP chief Lindner speaks of a loss of trust

7:01 p.m .: Thuringia's left-wing leader Susanne Hennig-Wellsow sees the election losses of the CDU, FDP and AfD in the Hamburg elections as a memorandum for the political debacle in Thuringia. "The breach of the taboo on February 5 goes through to Hamburg," said Hennig-Welsow in Erfurt. The election of Thuringia's Prime Minister Thomas Kemmerich (FDP) in early February, with votes from the CDU and AfD, has now massively punished voters in Hamburg. The threatened expulsion of the AfD from the citizens and the trembling of the FDP are a result of the Thuringian events. The Hamburg elections also show a broad majority beyond the CDU, FDP and AfD.

18:51: FDP leader Christian Lindner has the bad election result of his party in Hamburg as a sign of the loss of confidence after the turmoil in Thuringia . The election of the FDP politician Thomas Kemmerich, supported by the AfD, as the Thuringian prime minister had put the election campaigners in Hamburg in a "very difficult situation", Lindner said on Sunday evening on ZDF. The voters are "rightly irritated," he conceded. "Confidence still has to grow."

But in the Thuringian election debacle alone he doesn't want to see the reasons for the election: "Hamburg has always been a difficult place for the FDP," said Lindner. Nevertheless, like the weeks before, he admits that he and his party should “differentiate themselves from the AfD earlier and more clearly”.

Personally, Lindner did not want to accuse himself of any mistakes in connection with the Thrüingen crisis, rather he certified himself good crisis management. "I didn't wash," he said. "There was a mistake in Erfurt." As Federal President of the FDP, he could not give "instructions" to the state association - he could "only take responsibility for dealing with such a situation". We “lived up to our responsibility,” summed up Lindner.

The FDP in Hamburg saw the first forecasts and projections by ARD and ZDF at 5.0 percent - so it was initially unclear whether it would be enough to re-enter the citizens. On ARD, Lindner replied to the question of whether he would remain party leader regardless of a result above or below five percent: "The question does not arise".

Reactions to the 2020 Hamburg election

6:49 pm: Greens boss Robert Habeck has welcomed the strong gains of the Greens in the Hamburg elections as a "brilliant" result and order also in the federal government. And that despite the fact that the self-imposed goal of being able to provide the first mayor was not achieved. But Habeck cannot be put off. Historically, it was the second best election result at state level for the Greens, said Habeck on Sunday in Berlin. This is also thanks to the "courage to say yes, to fight for first place from the challenger position". So Hamburg had a "real choice".

Update 6.44 p.m .: The reactions to the Hamburg election are increasingly cheers about the possible resignation - at least about the strong punishment of the right-wing populist AfD. Many citizens write “Respekt Hamburg” or “Thank you” on Twitter. With the hashtag "Hamburg", "democracy" and "noafd" or "afdraus" are also appearing on social media.

A ❤️for #Hamburg! Bye AFD #NoAfDhh

Thanks Hamburg! #wehrhaftDemocracy #NazisRaus #Hamburg #kill millimeternachrechts #WahlHH #hhbue # hhbue2020 #GGUltras pic.twitter.com/yFrWah3wyg

AfD top candidate Dirk Nockemann spoke after the possible resignation of his party from the citizenship of the "result of a maximum exclusion campaign".

6:29 p.m .: SPD candidate Peter Tschentscher also celebrates with his party comrades on February 23 - even though the party has probably lost eight percentage points. But at the beginning of the year, the SPD was a lot worse.

The SPD federal chairman Norbert Walter-Borjans also sees a "clear leadership mandate to the Hamburg SPD" after his party's election success in the general election. In a first statement on Sunday evening, Walter-Borjans said: "This is really a great day." He congratulated Hamburg's Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) "on this great success".

"This is an overwhelming result that many had not expected recently," said Walter-Borjans . The Hamburg-based company honored Tschentscher's “rock-solid government policy”. He praised its "unexcited, determined handling" of the economic, social and ecological challenges in the Hanseatic city.

Election in Hamburg: "The Kemmerich coalition has lost"

The election also showed "what it means when the federal party has a clear compass," said the SPD leader . This paid off, and "the SPD was still significantly worse in November."

Walter-Borjans also congratulated the Greens , who were the only party to massively improve in the general election and more than doubled their result compared to the 2015 election. "Voters also honored their issues," said the SPD leader, referring to the Hamburg coalition partner of the Social Democrats.

The reverse is the result of the election evening for the CDU. Paul Ziemiak, CDU general secretary , admitted that after the election. He also refers to Thuringia and the leadership crisis in the CDU. Ziemiak does not explain what lessons the party should learn from this.

6:17 pm: "We can say one thing with certainty: The Kemmerich coalition has lost," said Katja Kipping after the election in Hamburg.

6:07 p.m .: It is already clear when the polling stations in Hamburg close at 6 p.m .: The SPD is the clear winner of the general election in Hamburg. The Greens are strong second. More results remain to be seen. Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Katrin Göring-Eckardt (Greens) are proud and satisfied in the ARD interview. In the ARD , Scholz immediately rated the result as a good sign of red-green.

Tobias Hans, CDU Prime Minister in Saarland, rated the result in Hamburg as "a historically bad result". Hans sees the result as a direct result of the events in Thuringia - and as a result of the leadership crisis within the CDU. He sees the outcome of the election as a “result that must startle us, even as a federal party”. The CDU gave "a current picture of leadershiplessness", especially after the crisis in Thuringia, said Hans on Sunday evening in the ARD. The impression had arisen that the CDU lacked the compass. It was therefore time to "make quick decisions here and now, in Thuringia, but also in the federal government to create clarity".

For the successor of the outgoing CDU chairman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and the question of a candidate for chancellor of the Union, a road map is needed above all, said Hans. This had to be discussed on Monday in the executive board and presidium, so that it could not be waited until the end of the year. It was important that the party chairman had the trade in hand.

According to forecasts , the CDU slipped in the Hamburg election to its nationwide worst result in state elections in almost 70 years. SPD and Greens have won a clear election and can thus continue the last red-green coalition in the federal and state governments. Surprisingly, the AfD, which was recently successful in all federal states, had to worry about remaining in the citizenship - as did the FDP.

Reactions to the Hamburg election 2020: Kevin Kühnert with an appeal to the citizens - "It has never been easier ..."

Hamburg - The turnout in the general election in Hamburg * is far higher than five years ago. As early as 4 p.m., 57 percent of those entitled to vote went to the poll. The state electoral office said that in 2015 only 56.5 percent voted. This Hamburg election seems to be a special one not only for the individual parties. The election debacle in Thuringia has caused violent reactions throughout the republic. For the FDP and CDU, the election in Hamburg is, so to speak, a trend barometer for the mood of voters in Germany.

Red-green has been ruling in the Hanseatic city since 2015. Now top Green candidate Katharina Fegebank * wants to take over the post of Mayor of Peter Tschentscher (SPD) * and make his SPD a junior partner. In the district elections in May last year, the Greens had won 29.3 percent of the vote across Hamburg and were thus ahead of the SPD, which came to 27.0 percent. In recent weeks, however, pollsters have seen the SPD consistently in the lead.

Reactions to the general election in Hamburg

SPD Vice Kevin Kühnert may also be happy about this. If so, then at least for the time being behave - rather, he writes it on Twitter, if the Hamburgers should raise their very best and go to the polls - to vote for the AfD from parliament. And Kühnert could be right. In the Sunday question of February 20, 2020, the AfD was just under six percent. Other recent surveys on the state election in Hamburg * attest the SPD a head start, the AfD a difficult position.

Ass up, #Hamburg. It has never been easier to kick the #AfD out of a parliament - when many vote democratically and anti-fascist. Spread the word! pic.twitter.com/AHTIq1d23e

The SPD won the 2015 general election with 45.6 percent of the vote. The Social Democrats led by Olaf Scholz then formed a coalition with the Greens, which came in third place to 12.3 percent. The CDU had won 15.9 percent of the vote, the left 8.5 and the FDP 7.4. At 6.1 percent, the AfD was first elected to a West German state parliament.

* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.

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