The day after the election – that’s how it goes on now

From BZ/dpa

The aim is to hold talks this week or early next week, Wegner told the German Press Agency on Monday. “Now is not the time for tacticians, now is the time for doers.”

“The government mandate is clearly ours,” said Wegner. “The Berliners have chosen the change.” The CDU had received 28.2 percent (2021: 18.0 percent) of the votes.

Giffey wants to talk about the sequel to Red-Green-Red

Regardless of the SPD’s historically poor election results, Berlin’s Prime Minister Franziska Giffey also wants to talk to the Greens and the Left about a possible continuation of the coalition.

“If the SPD is able to lead a strong government, then for us that is a point that we cannot simply push aside,” said Giffey on Monday morning on RBB Inforadio.

Of course, the SPD will also hold talks with the election winner and CDU top candidate Kai Wegner, whose party won 28.2 percent and thus gained a good ten points compared to the 2021 election.

But Giffey emphasized: “In the end it’s about who can organize a stable majority in the House of Representatives and where there is the greatest overlap in content for a path that we have started.”

Given her party’s poor performance, consequences are needed, Giffey said. “Regardless of the constellation in which we operate: Changes are needed in the city and in cooperation in the government – there is a lot to work on.”

SPD worse than ever since 1950

At 18.4 percent, the Social Democrats did worse than they had at any time since 1950 (2021: 21.4). The Greens, who have governed with the Left and SPD since 2016, also achieved 18.4 percent (18.9), but were 105 votes behind the Social Democrats.

The left slipped to 12.2 percent (14.1). The AfD increased to 9.1 (8.0). It was a bitter election evening for the FDP, which was expelled from another state parliament with 4.6 percent (7.1).