The Bremen election result is causing a political headache for the Greens. For the FDP and the CDU/CSU, questions of direction arise after the election.
Bremen – Member of the Bundestag Anton Hofreiter (Greens) has sharply criticized his party's failed election campaign in Bremen. "The result is disappointing. We have not succeeded in mobilizing large numbers beyond the core electorate," said the former parliamentary group chairman of the Greens of the German Press Agency (dpa).
The Bremen Greens had made mistakes, such as the abolition of free 15-minute parking. "Changes in transport policy are always tricky." Hofreiter speaks of "seditious decisions" made during the election campaign.
After the defeat of the Greens in the Bremen election: Hofreiter criticises the lack of tailwind from Berlin
According to the latest projection from May 15 (12:45 p.m.), his party won 11.9 percent of the vote. This is not only a dramatic loss of 5.5 percentage points compared to the last election in 2019, but also the worst election result for the Bremen Greens in 20 years.
Hofreiter also complains, however, that there was "no optimal tailwind" from Berlin. One must be more consistent with the SPD, which "does not like to grant the Greens successes". We have to make sure that compromises are supported by all sides," he told dpa. He hopes that the cooperation with the FDP will work better in the future after its re-entry into the Bremen parliament.
CDU loses to a strong incumbent from the SPD
The CDU's losses are moderate. At 24.5 percent, it has lost only 2019.1 percentage points compared to 0 - but this result is not a reason to celebrate. His party in Bremen did not succeed in the election, for example, "to express the major problems in the education system," said Secretary General Mario Czaja in the ARD program Anne Will.
The election campaign had been conducted "decently", but against the very good popularity ratings of Bremen's mayor Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD), the CDU candidate Frank Imhoff had found it difficult to arrive. His "tandem partner" Wiebke Winter has a similar view. "This is not a good result for the SPD, but for Andreas Bovenschulte, who enjoys high approval ratings here," she told WELT. "This election was a personal election," she adds.
Will Bremen's election result trigger a shift to the right in the CDU?
Nevertheless, the poor election result from Bremen could trigger a nationwide debate within the Union about the future course and initiate a shift to the right of the CDU. Imhoff and Winter have led a "greener" election campaign than Kai Wegner in Berlin or Markus Söder in Bavaria.
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While the Berlin CDU had positioned itself as a motorists' party, Imhoff and Wiebke often put cyclists and public transport in the foreground during the election campaign. Wegner won the election in February by a wide margin over the SPD, and the CSU is also rewarded for its decidedly anti-Green election campaign with stable poll ratings of around 40 percent.
The disappointing performance in Bremen could now strengthen those who want to profile the CDU as a clearly conservative alternative to the traffic light coalition, as reported by Die Welt. A clear opposition to the Greens, a clear yes to nuclear power, the favouring of the idea of performance over social policy and the general emphasis on conservative values are part of this conservative edge that many in the Union would like to see.
After the Bremen election: FDP announces sharper profiling – opposition as a possibility?
The FDP also lost slightly with 5.2 percent (2019: 5.9), but is still satisfied with the election result. "From my point of view, nothing went wrong," FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai told Deutschlandfunk. Not failing at the 5 percent hurdle was the main goal. That has been achieved.
In the last elections at the state level, the FDP suffered bitter defeats. In Lower Saxony (October 2022) and Berlin (February 2023), it flew out of both state parliaments with 4.7 and 4.6 percent respectively. This is a consequence of government participation at the federal level. It could "happen that you get worse results at the state level," said Djir-Sarai. In general, however, state elections have a "manageable signal effect".
Nevertheless, he announced that his party wanted to raise its profile in the ruling coalition and make its stance clear on certain positions. However, the FDP does not want to become a troublemaker and prevent the coalition's plans. "No party will be successful if it says we are now playing opposition in government," Djir-Sarai said.