Partial rerun of Germany's 2021 election in Berlin costs a governing party 1 seat
ABC News
A partial rerun of Germany’s 2021 election in Berlin brought a decline in support for the governing parties and cost one of them a seat in parliament, but led to no significant overall change
BERLIN -- A partial rerun of Germany's 2021 election in Berlin brought a decline in support for the governing parties and cost one of them a seat in parliament, but led to no significant overall change, official results showed Monday.
The repeat election was held Sunday in 455 of 2,256 precincts in the capital, which account for only 0.9% of the national electorate. Germany's highest court in December ruled on where the vote must be rerun following severe glitches at many polling stations in the city in September 2021.
Polls now show a very different picture from 2 1/2 years ago but it was always clear that the rerun was much too limited to endanger the majority held by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's unpopular three-party government.
Sunday's outcome showed noticeable declines in support in Berlin for Scholz's center-left Social Democrats and for the smallest party in the coalition, the pro-business Free Democrats, while support for the third governing party, the environmentalist Greens, was down only slightly.
The center-right opposition Christian Democrats, who currently lead nationwide polls, gained support, as did the far-right Alternative for Germany, whose strength has doubled in national surveys since 2021.
