In a ZDF interview, Römmele analyses the Hamburg state election results and their effect on federal politics.
The state elections in the northern city of Hamburg on Sunday saw the country’s centre-left parties consolidating their governing majority. Meanwhile, support for Angela Merkel’s conservative party CDU dropped to a historic low, and the far-right AfD was able to cross the threshold to retain its presence in parliament by a narrow margin.
Andrea Römmele, Dean of Executive Education and Professor of Communication in Politics and Civil Society, said that the main reason for the Social Democratic Party’s successful results in Hamburg, despite losing ground nationwide, is the fact that they kept the federal party out of their campaign.
“This shows that a party with a top candidate with clear competence and a consistent factual policy can win elections,” she explained.
Voters, she added, are looking for long-term power options, and therefore, both CDU and SPD need to reassess their policies and coalition partners on both state and national level. When it comes to the Green Party, Römmele is convinced that they will continue their successful run.
“The environment and climate change are issues that are at the core of the Greens’ values,” she said, adding that these issues will remain important to the people in the years to come. “They also represent a new political style and understanding.”
Read the full interview here (in German).
More about Andrea Römmele
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Andrea Römmele, Dean of Executive Education and Professor of Communication in Politics and Civil Society