The Social Democrats of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz could suffer a humiliating defeat on Sunday in a tumultuous regional election in Berlin.
The judges have ordered the German capital, one of the nation’s 16 federal states, to hold another election after the September 26, 2021 poll fell short of fundamental democratic requirements.
Prior to the election, polls placed the CDU conservative opposition in the lead, ahead of Scholz’s SPD, which won the election in 2021.
If the trend continues, it would be the first time in more than 20 years that the CDU won the capital’s regional vote.
The relevance of the local vote on a national level was emphasized by SPD general secretary Kevin Kuehnert, who cautioned that it might determine whether Scholz retained the support of strong SPD-led states as he sought to implement his ambitions for Germany.
The Bundesrat, the upper house of the federal parliament, which represents the regional states, is susceptible to upsets that could change the balance of power.
“A lot has changed since” the vote in 2021, making for an unusual contest, said Thorsten Faas, professor in political science at Berlin’s Freie Universitaet.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shifted the political landscape and the timing of Sunday’s vote — no longer falling on the same day as federal elections — means turnout will likely be lower, he told AFP.
