Elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

All parties represented in German Bundestag or the Land parliament had to accept losses. The Greens slightly missed entering the parliament, the liberal party FDP did not succeed in reentering. The SPD became the biggest party and will name the next prime minister, together with CDU or DIE LINKE as partner. The Social Democratic Party lost 5 percent compared to the results of 2011; but less than polls in spring had predicted (22%). After two legislations the NPD missed the entry into the parliament, her former voters mostly voted for the new party “Alternative für Deutschland” (AfD). They won above-average votes from former non-voters and from all other parties. In 23 of 26 electoral districts the AfD got more than 20 percent of the second votes, in one electoral district – Vorpommern-Greifswald II – they even reached 30 percent.

DIE LINKE reached 13,2 percent – 5,2 percent less than in 2011 -  and got 11 out of 71 seats in the Landtag. Voter turnout had risen to 61,6 percent (in 2011 it had been 51,5 percent) in favor of AfD.

As in the Land parliamentary elections in spring, the political debates in Meckenburg-Western Pomerania were determined by the so called refugee-question and anti-muslim atmosphere. National debates about alleged threats prepared a public discourse, in which the AfD could be successful.

In Meckenburg-Western Pomerania economic growth is low, unemployment is high and there is a high quota of precarious jobs compared to other parts of Germany. The region is suspended and divided. Pre-electoral polls had been wrong in drawing a picture of a stable society. In polls before the election three quarter of people interviewed said they were satisfied with their personal economic situation. What was not really visible: fears, insecurity in general, the state of crisis as permanent condition, ramshackled infrastructure, decline in political participation and local civil society engagement.