Hendrik Wüst (r.), CDU top candidate and Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, and SPD top candidate Thomas Kutschaty at the TV duel Photo: dpa
From BZ editors
It’s a small federal election – and the results are tough…
The state elections in NRW will make for a thriller tonight!
The first figures from Germany’s most populous federal state at a glance:
According to the first forecast, the CDU, with Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst at the top, will be the strongest with 35 percent (2017: 33 percent). The SPD is clearly in second place with 27.5 percent (2017: 31.2 percent). A historical gossip for the Social Democrats!
The Greens manage a sensational 18.5 percent – and can triple their result from 2017 (6.4 percent).
The FDP falls to 5 percent – in 2017 the Liberals had reached 12.6 percent.
The AfD ends up with 6 percent (2017: 7.4 percent).
But what does that mean?
▶︎ With this result, the previously ruling black-yellow coalition is history. Worse still for the FDP: it hardly has a chance of participating in the government. CDU incumbent Hendrik Wüst needs a new coalition partner! With the Greens he would have a majority.
▶︎ The SPD wanted to provide the new prime minister – that will probably be difficult. Thomas Kutschaty is clearly behind Prime Minister Wüst in the first forecasts. However, it cannot be completely ruled out that it will still be enough for red-green in the end. The evening will tell!
︎ On the other hand, the other traffic light partner of the federal government got tailwind. The Greens have the best chance of participating in government in the future.
