Voters turn out today for elections in Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphaliain which the ruling conservatives of the state with the Social Democrats (SPD) are expected to face each other.
Some 13 million voters are expected to cast their ballots in the industrialized state of West Germany.with these elections often considered a barometer for national elections, with 786,000 voters voting for the first time.
SPD Chancellor Olaf Solz is expected to watch the race closely, following his party’s defeat in elections in another German state just last weekend..
The Christian Democrats (CDU) now lead a coalition with the Free Democrats (FDP) in North Rhine-Westphalia.
However the latest polls show that his government Hendrik Vist faces a tough challenge from the SPD, led by Thomas Koutsati, who follows in the polls by just two to four percentage points.
«The showdown is really chest to chest“, Said the Koutsatiwith most polls showing the CDU’s lead coinciding with the margin of error.
Also, ZDF public network recently estimated 34% of undecided voters.
The North Rhine-Westphalia election campaign was dominated by issues related to Ukraine, energy security, phasing out coal, and rising fuel and energy prices. Other campaign issues in the state included climate change, education policy and affordable housing.
The CDU and the SPD They also clashed over their parties’ respective relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the years leading up to the war in Ukraine.
As many as 29 parties with 1,375 candidates are running in the election, although opinion polls suggest that only 5 parties will pass the 5% threshold required to enter the state parliament.
The CDU hopes that his election victory in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein last week will boost his chances of winning the most votes and again leading a coalition government for the next five years in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The SPD suffered record losses in the northern state, just months after the election that led to Soltz as chancellor.
Although the The next parliamentary elections in the federal parliament of Berlin are still some years away, in the German federal system, the elections held at the state level are extremely important indicators of the general mood.
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