Elections are in a state of emergency: because of the corona crisis, the election parties are being canceled. First impression: The green revolution has to wait, the CSU does better than expected.
- The current corona crisis is overshadowing local elections in Bavaria.
- Nevertheless, turnout rose in many places.
- Many incumbents were able to defend their office.
Munich - Katharina Schulze has made herself comfortable. "Specials, gummy bears, cookies, two screens to look at the websites in parallel - so perfectly equipped!", The Greens parliamentary group leader in Bavaria informed the Bavarians via social networks and posted a picture of himself on the couch. Her counterpart Ludwig Hartmann has meanwhile gone to his old home in Landsberg, where his brother Moritz ran for mayor. The CSU leadership sits alone in the regional management in the north of Munich.
Local elections in Bavaria: Nothing is normal on this strange election evening
Nothing is normal on this strange election night. Almost all parties were canceled - you can follow the results in a small group or at home. But the phones are glowing. Only the voters were not deterred by the virus : participation is usually higher than six years ago.
Otherwise, a trend is difficult to grasp even after the first mayor and district council results from late evening, especially since the counting of the district councils, city and municipal councils sometimes takes a while due to the complicated right to vote.
One trend, however, is that almost wherever the incumbent took office, they did well - even if some had to be cast in the runoff. Another: The CSU fared better than expected in the big cities. The Greens, on the other hand, had a surprisingly difficult time in many larger cities: In Nuremberg, Augsburg or in scandal-ridden Regensburg , the hype about the climate did not go very far.
Local elections in Bavaria: CSU general secretary Markus Blume with a swipe against the Greens
CSU General Markus Blume cannot resist the swipe in the evening: "The green wave has broken, especially in the cities." In Augsburg in front, in Nuremberg at eye level in the runoff, in Munich just like that. Blume praises the "strong local candidates" and of course the "committed election campaign of Markus Söder ", who traveled across Bavaria.
#CSU is doing very well in the cities and in the country. We are the local party and stand for stability in difficult times. We continue to fight for the runoff elections. Thanks to all voters, campaigners and candidates. Congratulations to everyone who has already been chosen. pic.twitter.com/vUUa4Pz2SM
- CSU (@CSU) March 15, 2020Or maybe it was simply the Prime Minister's crisis management in the Corona crisis that also gave the CSU candidates a little tailwind. "More light than shadow," says Upper Bavarian CSU boss Ilse Aigner . Light: The district elections in Miesbach and Starnberg . Dark shadow: Freising . Erding also wobbles for the CSU. The next two weeks would be very difficult, however, because one could not campaign for a street or front door until the runoff. The daily newspaper and social media would now be important.
In the evening, rumors buzz through the CSU that the runoff election will have to be postponed by at least a week if the postal ballot papers really need to be sent to every household. Officially there is no confirmation for this.
Local elections in Bavaria: The Greens are rather disappointed in the big cities
Either way. The Greens will have a lot to talk about in the next few days. Ludwig Hartmann's private election party in Landsberg is modest due to his brother's manageable results. They are happy about the young Jonas Glüsenkamp , who is in the runoff in Bamberg , and ex-head of state Sigi Hagl , who forced the incumbent into the second round in Landshut.
But the rather disappointing performance in the other cities drives the strategically thinking group leader. "If we want to play for victory in the future, we have to get people into positions earlier," he says. He takes Katrin Habenschaden in Munich as an example, whom he attests to a "bombing election campaign". "I had the feeling that it could be enough," says Hartmann.
The City Council result should be great. In the end, the path with an initially unknown candidate was too far. "The fact is that Katrin Habenschaden emerges stronger from the election and has a completely different starting position in six years."
Local elections in Bavaria: incumbents win remarkably often
Otherwise, the incumbent often wins yesterday. In Straubing , OB Markus Pannermayr (CSU) gets a whopping 73.25 percent. Christian Schuchardt is allowed to continue in W ürzburg - a CDU man! And Fürth's Mayor Thomas Jung clearly wins.
After many bad election evenings recently, it is the mayors who give hope to the battered comrades yesterday. In addition to Reiter and Jung , Jürgen Duppe r in Passau or Florian Hartmann in Dachau . "I already had a very good feeling," says Natascha Kohnen. The state president has been traveling a lot in the past few days. "These are very independent elections, where mainly candidates and topics on the ground play the decisive role." If you like, you can also think that Berlin and the Willy-Brandt-Haus are far away from Passau or Fürth.
List of rubric lists: © dpa / Peter Kneffel