New state parliament in Hanover: Lower Saxony votes after "most difficult election campaign"

In the shadow of the Ukraine war, Lower Saxony elects a new state parliament. The partners of the previous grand coalition have become opponents: SPD Prime Minister Weil and CDU challenger Althusmann are now courting the Greens. In the final sprint of the election campaign, clear words are spoken again.

Shortly before the state elections in Lower Saxony, the parties campaigned for votes with plenty of prominent politicians. CDU top candidate Bernd Althusmann, who wants to replace Prime Minister Stephan Weil from the SPD, received support from party leader Friedrich Merz on Friday. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner appeared in three cities – according to surveys, his FDP must fear staying in the state parliament. In Hanover, the Greens relied on Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus and party leader Omid Nouripour. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke on Saturday at the end of the SPD election campaign in Hanover. In an interview with ntv.de, Weil said he was experiencing the “most difficult election campaign I’ve conducted in my life”. Because of the energy crisis and the Ukraine war, democracy is being put to the test.

On Sunday, around 6.1 million voters are called upon to elect a new state parliament. In the polls of the past few weeks, the SPD with incumbent and top candidate Weil was always just ahead of the CDU. Because is aiming for a red-green coalition. In his opinion, a continuation of the current grand coalition in Lower Saxony would often lead to a blockade. “If I continue to calculate that over the next few years, I’m afraid we would end up in a situation far too often where we block each other,” he said on Friday evening in Braunschweig. With a view to the current coalition partner, the CDU, he said that the stock of commonalities had noticeably decreased and, conversely, the number of controversies had grown noticeably.

According to polls, Weil can hope for a red-green majority. The SPD was in the polls at 31 to 33 percent, the CDU at 27 to 30 percent. The Greens were not quite able to maintain their poll high from the summer with 16 to 19 percent, but are still heading for a record result. Significant gains are also becoming apparent for the AfD. The party lost its faction status in the state parliament in Hanover two years ago due to several exits, but could now achieve a double-digit result with 9 to 11 percent. The whereabouts of the FDP in the state parliament is in the balance with 5 percent. The left would miss their return by 3 to 4 percent. In an interview with ntv.de, Althusmann warned of a traffic light coalition at state level. For his CDU, the Greens would be the most realistic coalition option – although it is not certain that both parties would get their own majority.

However, both parties are far apart on energy issues – and the issue dominated the election campaign. Merz and CDU top candidate Althusmann once again criticized the traffic light coalition in Berlin. One of the main points of criticism was the attitude towards nuclear energy. “Everyone around Europe is just shaking their heads at these crazy Germans who are serious about shutting down three nuclear power plants right now?” said Merz. The Emsland nuclear power plant in Lingen, Lower Saxony, is to be taken off the grid at the end of the year, while the Neckarwestheim and Isar 2 nuclear power plants in southern Germany are to be put into operation.

That should be the pain threshold for some Greens, which they are just about to support. In an interview with ntv.de, Althusmann even called for all three nuclear power plants to continue operating until the end of 2024 and for new fuel rods to be ordered. The Greens said on Friday that Althusmann had already come to terms with the opposition role. He no longer expects to be prime minister and has no ideas of his own for the state, said Greens top candidate Julia Willie Hamburg.

The Greens have not yet ruled out a coalition with the CDU, but a red-green alliance is more likely. Nevertheless, Hamburg also criticized Prime Minister Weil. With a view to his announcement that if he were re-elected he would launch a 970 million euro relief program in the energy crisis, she said: “An aid package is not an election promise, it is now an imperative.”

The CDU in particular sees the state elections as a vote on the crisis policy of the traffic light coalition around Chancellor Scholz. The CDU was combative in trying to catch up with the SPD. CDU boss Merz said in Hanover that the mood for the party was better than in the polls. Althusmann said on Saturday: “Surveys are not always correct either, we last saw that in NRW.” Many voters have not yet decided who they want to vote for.

The AfD reaffirmed its goal of at least ten percent of the votes and violently attacked the politics of the federal government. “Clearly: We want to be in double digits,” said party chairman Frank Rinck on Friday evening. Rinck criticized “a failed policy, which is not for the benefit but to the detriment of the population”, especially with regard to energy, economic and health issues. It is important to take people’s concerns more seriously.