Why did Germany’s SPD party do so badly in the election? – DW (English)
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Excerpt:
The day after Hamburg’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, March 2, cautious optimism was in the air at the Social Democratic Party (SPD) headquarters in Berlin. “The result made us smile,” said party co-chair Saskia Esken.
The SPD won 33.5% of the vote in Hamburg, more than double its February 23rd federal election result of only 16.4%. That was the SPD’s worst federal election result since 1887 — back when it was still called the Socialist Workers’ Party of Germany. The Bundestag election reflects a depressing, decades-long downward trend for the party.
The SPD’s 25.7% share in Germany’s last federal election in 2021, now seems to have been an anomaly. Back then, opinion polls had put the party at 15% for months. Its surprising comeback was due to crucial mistakes by its main rival, the center-right Christian Democratic Party (CDU). Those within SPD ranks later described it like this: “We thought we had won — but it was only that the others had lost.”
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