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Bundestag elections in Berlin: Why members of the Bundestag are now trembling for their jobs

2022-06-20T09:47:19.049Z


Ruppert Stüwe has been in the Bundestag since September, but now he is one of those MPs who could soon be thrown out of Parliament again. About the consequences of a chaos election.


Empty chairs in the plenum: who will lose their seat in the Bundestag?

Photo:

Florian Gaertner / photo library / IMAGO

Ruppert Stüwe's office is a few minutes' walk from the Reichstag and the Chancellery, in one of those buildings whose corridors look so inconspicuous, as if building savings contracts were being worked on here and not the fortunes of the German people.

A rickety table for meetings, the shelf is half empty, a poster from the election campaign curls up in one corner.

»Ruppert Stüwe – For Steglitz-Zehlendorf in the Bundestag.«

Stüwe has only just started.

The SPD man was elected to parliament for the first time nine months ago.

In December he came to the Board of Education.

In February he had his staff team together.

In March he moved again, two doors down, room 2133.

"I decided to take the mandate seriously from the start and not to waste any thought on what could happen," says Stüwe.

Hardly started, threatens the expulsion

What could happen - that's exactly what these weeks are all about.

Because nothing is certain in Ruppert Stüwe's world of MPs.

The 44-year-old is one of several parliamentarians who now have to tremble for their job.

No sooner have they started than they are threatened with expulsion from the Bundestag.

The reason for this is the chaos in the federal elections in Berlin.

On that September 26, chaotic conditions prevailed in the capital.

Ballot papers were missing in a number of polling stations, people waited in queues for hours, and some were unable to vote at all.

Federal Returning Officer Georg Thiel made a devastating verdict.

It was apparently a "complete systematic failure of the electoral organization," he said at the end of May at a hearing by the Bundestag's Election Review Committee.

His demand: the vote must be repeated in six Berlin constituencies.

But new elections may also mean different results.

Anyone who still felt like a winner in the fall could now lose their mandate after all.

Ruppert Stüwe is a wiry man, round glasses, a three-day beard and his hair cut short.

He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.

Stüwe points to a wall in his office.

Colorful keywords are stuck there, they are made of a special foil, he raves about how easily you can move them back and forth without them falling off.

Stüwe likes to prepare himself for things that are important to him.

Recently, this has also included speeches in the German Bundestag.

He has stood at the lectern twice so far.

The first time it was all about the household.

"I was satisfied," says Stüwe, "I got my message across."

Before Stüwe came to the Bundestag, he worked for the Berlin transport company.

He was in charge of corporate strategy there.

After the election, he quickly got to know the hardships of federal politics.

He was denied the job he had hoped for on the transport committee.

When the decision was made on the special fund for the Bundeswehr, the party left openly opposed the faction, suddenly he was the dissenter.

Substantive politics, power struggles, the big stage - that's Stüwe's new reality.

The only question is: for how much longer?

Chain reaction in the capital

Should the election be repeated in parts of the capital, it could trigger a veritable chain reaction.

And Stüwe might be the victim.

What is decisive for him is what is happening in the north of the city, in Reinickendorf.

In September, the CDU candidate Monika Grütters was just ahead of the Social Democrat Torsten Einstmann - with just 1788 first votes.

A lead that could be gone in the event of a redial.

A defeat in the fight for the direct mandate would be manageable for Grütters, it is secured by the state list, so it would remain in the Bundestag.

But then two other MPs would have a problem.

Ottilie Klein from Berlin-Mitte is the second and last CDU politician to enter parliament in the capital via the state list.

If the worst comes to the worst, it would have to give way to the Grütters, who are better placed on the list.

It looks similar at Stüwe.

If his comrade Einstmann wins in Reinickendorf, the SPD will have to forego a list mandate in return.

It would be fifth on the SPD list.

Stüwe's place.

The federal political career would be there for the time being.

“I can understand that there is huge anger about the Berlin election,” says Stüwe.

It's a cautious move given what's at stake.

Publicly Stüwe wants to say little about all this.

The subject is delicate.

When those affected get involved in a debate about voting errors, they quickly come across as being driven by their own interests.

This raises big questions: Would a repeat election really be the cleanest democratic solution?

Would it restore trust in the political system and its representatives, or perhaps even further damage their reputation?

Can Stüwe simply accept his possible expulsion or should he even contest it if in doubt?

"I was proud"

Stüwe still has no answers to these questions.

He doesn't want to dig too deep into it, preferring to push it away as best he can.

After all, entering the Bundestag was his greatest political success.

And a surprise at that.

Stüwe's place on the list was by no means certain.

When he was still working for the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, he downplayed the chances of a change to professional politics: Don't worry, he told his colleagues at the time.

It was still unclear on election night whether it would be enough.

Around midnight, Stüwe left a party with comrades, "pretty frustrated," he says.

Stüwe woke up early in the morning and looked at his cell phone, where he saw the first congratulatory messages.

He was in.

Ruppert Stüwe, member of the Bundestag.

"I was proud," he says.

"That's a huge thing, I was really looking forward to Parliament."

Others now decide about Stüwe's fate.

The Bundestag's Election Review Committee is currently dealing with the matter, and a decision could be made before or during the summer break.

It is a historic task for the MPs on the panel.

An election disaster of this magnitude is unprecedented in the history of the Federal Republic.

At the end of the day, these are very technical questions.

Above all this: Where should be re-elected at all?

Only in the polling stations actually affected?

Or in the entire constituency – as required by the Federal Returning Officer?

If there is a major by-election, the possible consequences would be far more serious.

According to a calculation by the Federal Returning Officer, up to eight mandates would be threatened if there were a repeated vote in the entire constituency.

The analysis assumes that participation would be lower if people were to vote again.

The parties would then generally have to give up one or even two seats.

The paper is available to SPIEGEL, the Business Insider portal first reported on it.

What will become of the employees?

However, it is also quite possible that the Election Review Committee will favor a smaller solution

- and only considers a new election at the local level in the approximately 300 affected polling stations to be justified in principle.

The changes would then probably not be so dramatic.

Another consideration would then come to the fore even more: whether the effort of a new election is proportionate at all, if only one mandate is expected to wobble - or in the end everything will remain the same.

Politically, the battle situation is still confusing.

The Union supports the demand of the Federal Returning Officer, in the traffic light one is not yet in agreement.

It is clear that the matter will ultimately be negotiated by the party and faction leaders.

Once the Election Review Committee has made its recommendation, the Bundestag must decide.

Similar to Stüwe, the other affected politicians are also holding back when it comes to their personal situation.

Officially, most don't want to say anything about it.

Not Ottilie Klein, the CDU politician.

Neither does FDP politician Lars Lindemann.

The Green Nina Stahr, also new to the Bundestag, only commented on the procedure in principle.

It is important to her that everything is checked properly now, says Stahr.

In the end, it could still be a long time before there is clarity.

If the Bundestag votes for new elections, these must be held within three months.

Unless someone goes to the Federal Constitutional Court and gets a stop for the time being.

It's a scenario that's making the rounds, at least among the anxious members of parliament: that everything in Karlsruhe drags on until the legislature is practically over - and the issue of new elections has thus taken care of itself.

In any case, it remains a stalemate for the MPs concerned.

You have to deal with things that just a few months ago would have sounded completely absurd in the euphoria of the electoral success: How long is the notice period for the rented constituency office?

In which profession do I earn my money if I am suddenly no longer a member of parliament?

What will happen to the newly hired employees that I would then have to lay off?

Ruppert Stüwe would at least fall softly himself.

With the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, a public employer, he would have a right to return.

So he doesn't have to be afraid of a job if the re-election forces him to take an unexpected career break.

The dream of federal politics would have burst for the time being.

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-06-20

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