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Press comments on NRW: "Was the SPD victory in the federal government in 2021 just an exception?"

2022-05-16T07:02:21.920Z


Tough defeat for Chancellor Scholz, secret election victory for the Greens: Most newspapers agree on the assessment of the state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia. But the future of the election winner CDU is also critically commented on.


Enlarge image

Election loser Thomas Kutschaty (SPD) in Düsseldorf

Photo: INA FASSBENDER / AFP

A state election in North Rhine-Westphalia is always a federal election on a small scale.

Germany's largest federal state reflects the republic with its mixture of rural areas and metropolises.

Accordingly weighty, commentators bend over the result of yesterday's election.

Many agree that the SPD's defeat also applies to Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

And that the Greens are the secret election winners.

Why the election victory of the CDU can become a nuisance for Friedrich Merz also plays a role.

The overview:

Süddeutsche Zeitung

  : "There is no escape for the chancellor: the result of the election in North Rhine-Westphalia also represents an initial assessment of Olaf Scholz's work.

Not only is the German government's handling of the war in Ukraine a dominant political issue these weeks.

Scholz himself was heavily involved in the state election campaign.

And the SPD's top candidate, Thomas Kutschaty, has clearly backed the chancellor.

Now the message is clearer than expected - and not nice for Olaf Scholz."

»Resounding slap for Scholz«

taz

 : »The SPD has not done anything fundamentally wrong.

This defeat is particularly painful because there are no obvious mistakes that could be avoided in the future.

Now there are ugly questions.

Was the SPD victory in the federal government in 2021 just an exception, which was due to a momentary weakness in the Greens and the Union’s post-Merkel crisis?”

Weser-Kurier

 : "The worst election result for the SPD in the history of North Rhine-Westphalia is first and foremost a resounding slap in the face for Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

In contrast to the previous state elections in Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein, the result in Düsseldorf is not politically motivated, but primarily due to voters' disappointment at the Chancellor's hesitant and hesitant course on the Ukraine question.

The result testifies more to the weakness of the chancellor than to the strength of the CDU prime minister.«

Augsburger Allgemeine

 : "The Chancellor's motto for the next few months and beyond the next state election in Lower Saxony must be: dare more leadership.

While the Greens in North Rhine-Westphalia have received a boost from the two strongest traffic light ministers, Robert Habeck and Annalena Baerbock, the NRW-FDP cannot say the same.

She had to fear for a long time to re-enter the Düsseldorf state parliament.

›Together‹ is a Scholz word that is used a lot.

This applies more than ever after the NRW elections.«

A problem for Merz

Leipziger Volkszeitung

 : »For the CDU leader Friedrich Merz, the outcome of the election is initially a boost.

He can get over the fact that CDU man Tobias Hans is no longer prime minister in the small Saarland.

Daniel Günther defended Schleswig-Holstein and now Wüst has significantly improved the result in NRW compared to 2017.

But should Wüst remain head of government, Merz has two younger and successful candidates for the next chancellor candidacy – in addition to himself. You could still stir up the CDU vigorously.”

Neue Zürcher Zeitung

 : »All those who want a more conservative CDU should give food for thought to Sunday's result.

North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous federal state, is a miniature Germany.

Large cities and rural regions alternate;

some areas are prospering, others are still struggling with the consequences of structural change.

If you want to be successful here, you have to win over wealthy and rather poor voters, you have to convince citizens with a migration background and those whose ancestors lived in the country for generations.

Wüst succeeded.

He showed his party how to act if they want to return to power in Berlin.«

Rejection of "radicalized politics"

Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung

 : "After this election result, it is also remarkable that there is currently nothing to be gained on the left and right edge of NRW state politics.

The left continued their nationwide failures and once again missed out on entering parliament. The AfD narrowly managed to get in, but continues to play no political role.

A clear rejection of the people in NRW to a radicalized policy.«

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

 : Two days before the elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Chrupalla sent out a statement saying that the majority of Germans were afraid of being drawn into the war by the course of the federal government.

Instead of wooing voters with a radical course, the AfD has to maneuver.

Whichever coalition ends up governing in Düsseldorf: the AfD will not be part of it.”

Mr

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-05-16

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