Focus on political stability in Germany in East German elections

According to Brandenburg's SPD leader Dietmar Woidke, the three upcoming elections in the eastern German states in the fall are also about political stability throughout Germany. In Germany, people have become accustomed to this stability, it is part of the German success story and prosperity, he said on Saturday in Frankfurt (Oder) at the future dialog "East Germany has the choice". However, the security that many were looking for would not exist without stability in society. This is a prerequisite for a stable economy. The event was organized by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

Brandenburg's SPD leader called on the traffic light coalition in the federal government to resolve a fundamental conflict. One coalition partner would prefer to spend millions on transformation, while the other says that this must be done with the money that is available. He warned that this would increasingly put society to the test. He could also imagine a wealth tax, the rich or wealthy could make a higher contribution to stability, the SPD leader repeated his old demand.

For Brandenburg, Woidke believes that the SPD will do well in the state elections. He knows the polls. But even five years ago, the SPD proved that it could win elections despite being behind. "I am optimistic and in a good mood," said the SPD chairman and Minister President.

New state parliaments will be elected in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg in September. According to polls, the AfD could become the strongest party in all three states, in some cases by a considerable margin.

In Brandenburg, the SPD has governed with changing partners since 1990, currently with the CDU and the Greens. The AfD was ahead in the most recent polls. Most recently, the SPD was in third place behind the AfD and CDU, before that it was usually in second place.

"We have shown in Brandenburg in recent years that we can overcome the major challenges." It is no coincidence that the state recorded the highest economic growth of six percent in the first quarter of 2023. This also has something to do with the establishment of Tesla and BER, but also with the transformation and the structural strengthening funds for Brandenburg's Lusatia region with investments amounting to ten billion euros. With regard to the transformation and the changes for the people, he would like to see more "respect" from the federal government. "This is sometimes far too underexposed in today's debate". The transformation demands a lot from people, Woidke explained.

Petra Köpping, Saxony's Minister of State for Social Affairs, said at the event that Saxony is in a good position as the largest eastern German state. There is an enormous boost for the economy. However, the municipalities must be better financed. It was a matter of catching up in school construction and education. The CDU, which has been in power for 33 years, has neglected this. District councils and mayors are the first to suffer from people's dissatisfaction.