German conservatives to win elections in two states

2023-10-08 21:51:32, Kosova & Bota CNA

Germany's center-right opposition is expected to win Sunday's elections in two states, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the middle of a government that is unpopular with voters. Voter polls after the elections show an increase in support for the far-right party, "Alternative for Germany".

Germany's interior minister, who faced an uphill battle to become governor of her region, appears to be heading for a heavy defeat.

In Bavaria, about 9.4 million people are eligible to vote in the new state legislature, and about 4.3 million in the neighboring state of Hesse, a region that includes Germany's financial capital, Frankfurt.

Both states are led by the country's main opposition bloc consisting of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU).

Post-vote polls by German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF show the CSU party, which has led Bavaria since 1957, leads the race with 37% support.

In Hesse, polls show the CDU party leading with around 35% of the vote, well ahead of its rivals.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has risen to second place in national polls behind the conservative bloc, will not be a factor in determining new governments in Bavaria and Hesse after other parties refused to cooperate with him.

But polls after the vote show that the AfD party could get between 15% and 16% of the vote in Bavaria and 16% to 17% in Hesse, marking an increase in support since the last election in 2018.

Post-election voter polls show a significant drop in support for the ruling parties, the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democrats.

Both the Greens and Chancellor Scholz's Social Democrats chose Interior Minister Nancy Faeser to run against conservative Hesse state governor Boris Rhein. But polls show that the 24-year rule of the CDU party in this country can continue for years. It seems that the AfD and the ruling parties are competing for second place.

Mr Scholz's governing coalition has lost voter support on issues such as energy and migration.

In Bavaria, Governor Markus Soeder has called on voters to support "continuity and stability". Mr. Soeder is widely considered a possible candidate to challenge Mr. Scholz in the 2025 election, although he has denied having such ambitions./ VOA