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Cyclist demo "Without kerosene to Berlin" on Kurfürstenstrasse in Potsdam.
Will cycling play a more important role in the future?
Photo: Martin Müller / IMAGO
At least once, the bicycle had a certain impact on the election campaign - when the Greens introduced a purchase premium of 1000 euros per cargo bike.
For this they earned criticism and ridicule.
Even from the left, which, curiously, is proposing funding for cargo bikes.
In fact, the bicycle is increasingly becoming a factor in transport policy.
Many people in Germany switch to the bicycle, which was invented here in 1817.
Last year, the population was more than 79 million, higher than ever before.
So what role should the bike play in the future?
SPIEGEL has examined the parties' programs.
CDU / CSU: Cycling, yes, but ...
The Union is trying to integrate the bicycle into its election program.
"More and more people want to switch to the train or bicycle, but still - especially in the country - to be able to travel by car or bus on good roads." This sentence from the election manifesto of the CDU / CSU symbolizes the efforts the Union to please everyone.
SPD: Bicycle policy in the subjunctive
Like the Union, the Social Democrats cannot separate bicycles from automobiles.
The election manifesto says: “More and more citizens are switching to buses, trains or bikes.
Nevertheless, the car remains important for many people. "
AfD: Without words
In short: there is nothing here.
The AfD only demands: »Individual mobility must remain affordable.« However, the comparatively cheap means of transport, bicycle, does not even appear in the electoral program.
The AfD focuses on »motorized individual transport as the most popular way of getting around«.
FDP: Idea on two wheels
"There has never been more to do" is the headline of the FDP election manifesto.
However, the Free Democrats do not apply this to cycling.
The bicycle plays practically no role in the paper.
Die Linke: What does "more bicycle-friendly" mean?
Compared to the extensive demands relating to the automobile, the bicycle tends to fall behind in the election manifesto of the left.
In comparison with the SPD, FDP and AfD, however, the left make significantly more proposals.
The Greens: Germany should become a cycling country
The Greens say: "The bicycle has huge potential for the mobility transition." That is why they want to turn the autonomous nation of Germany into a bicycle country.
And have some suggestions on how to do this.
