Saxony is faced with scarce elections: Focus on coalition options

Saxony is faced with scarce elections: Focus on coalition options

In the last few days before the upcoming state elections in eastern Germany, the political climate was particularly intensive. While the actors on the streets campaigned for voices, the latest surveys indicated an exciting race, especially in Saxony, where the citizens are confronted with diverse political options.

The Saxon coalition could actually be able to stay scarce. According to a survey by the Forsa Institute, which was carried out between August 27 and 29, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) are closely related. The CDU leads with 33 percent, followed by the AfD with 31 percent. This shows the growing support for the AfD, which vehemently presents itself as a serious competitor. The other parties are also relevant: the alliance (BSW) could move into the state parliament with 12 percent, while the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) with 7 percent and the Greens at 6 percent are not insignificant in the elections. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the left, on the other hand, seem to be left behind because they are below the five percent hurdle.

The election campaign in the final sprint

The election campaign is pussy and the last few weeks have been characterized by intensive attempts to mobilize all political camps. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other prominent politicians of the traffic light coalition, including Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and FDP boss Christian Lindner, were active to win over voters for their political visions. The AfD, on the other hand, held a rally in Erfurt on Saturday, in which its top candidates, Björn Höcke and Alice Weidel, took the opportunity to spread their messages. It is important to note that the event was accompanied by protests: up to 3,000 people took to the streets to demonstrate against the AfD and to promote values such as solidarity and diversity.

The political landscape in Saxony is diverse and shows how strongly the influence of populist movements has increased. AfD boss Tino Chrupalla announced that his party wanted to take over government responsibility. This represents a significant step in the German political system, since the AfD is already represented in several state parliament and now sees itself in the position of being able to intervene more in government policy.

A remarkable aspect of the survey results is the uncertainty that you reflect. The fault tolerance was about three percentage points, which means that the actually choice can differ from the surveys. The party leadership in Saxony is currently analyzing the conditions and sees parallelities for past elections, where the CDU and the AfD have established themselves as main actors.

If the surveys come true, this could lead to a continuation of the current government alliance from the CDU, Greens and SPD under Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer. Alternatively, an alliance of the CDU and BSW could also be conceivable. But despite the assessments, the outcome of the election remains uncertain. The last mobilization of voters before the election is crucial.