Merz's Party Wins Municipal Elections in Lower Saxony, But AfD Surges

In Sunday's municipal elections in the German state of Lower Saxony, victory went to the conservative CDU, led at the federal level by Chancellor Friedrich Merz. According to preliminary figures published by broadcaster NDR, the party secured 27.7% of the vote — noticeably down from the 31.7% it won five years ago.

The Social Democrats came second with 24.5%, compared to 30% in 2021. These calculations are based on results from elections to councils in Lower Saxony's major cities, as well as district and regional assemblies. Official results are not expected until Monday morning.

Far-Right Support Triples

The biggest surprise of the vote was the sharp rise in support for the far-right AfD, whose share of the vote more than tripled — climbing from 4.6% five years ago to 16.5% now. The Greens took 13.6%, down 2.3 percentage points. The Left Party (Die Linke) improved its result from 2.8% to 5.9%, while the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) lost a significant chunk of support, falling from 6.5% to 3.6%.

A Region Where Volkswagen Looms Large

Lower Saxony is a federal state in northwestern Germany with a population of roughly eight million. Besides Hanover, the region's capital, it is home to the major cities of Braunschweig and Wolfsburg, as well as the university towns of Osnabrück and Göttingen.

Wolfsburg is headquarters to carmaker Volkswagen, which also runs plants in Braunschweig, Hanover and Emden — though the latter two facilities face possible closure. The state itself owns 11.8% of Volkswagen's shares and holds a 20% blocking minority stake in the company.

Around 6.3 million voters were eligible to take part in Sunday's elections, choosing representatives for regional assemblies, district councils, and city and municipal councils — with mayors also up for election in some municipalities.

Source: novinky.cz