Early federal election – from chaos to election chaos

It ends as it began: the federal government is at its end and a new election, brought forward from September to March, is looming. There was chaos at the beginning, it was chaotic again and again and it ends in chaos. We remember: The coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP, which was canceled on Wednesday evening, was formed after the federal election in September 2021 – and this election went completely wrong organizationally in the capital.

Under the conditions of the corona pandemic, the Berlin districts had taken into account a far too high proportion of postal voters. They opened too few polling stations, where there were too few voting booths, and to make matters worse, there weren’t enough ballot papers on site in some places. Because the House of Representatives and the district council assemblies were elected in Berlin at the same time as the Bundestag and the referendum “Expropriate German Housing & Co!” also had to be voted on, the citizens were allowed to make a total of six crosses. This took some time and there were long queues outside. In the end, after hours of waiting, many people voted long after 6 p.m., when the polling stations were supposed to have closed.

The numerous breakdowns meant that the House of Representatives election in February 2023 had to be completely repeated and the federal election in February 2024 in part of the Berlin electoral districts. However, there is no fear of renewed chaos in an early federal election in March 2025. The new state returning officer, Stephan Bröchler, who was appointed as a result of the failure in 2021, has done a good job and repaired the gap from back then. The two aforementioned repeat elections as well as the European elections in June 2024 and the referendum “Berlin 2030 climate neutral” in March 2023 went largely smoothly.

Nevertheless, state returning officer Bröchler does not take early elections lightly. “The more election events there are, the greater the challenge of getting a suitable number of election workers,” the dpa news agency quoted him as saying on Thursday. “But I have no doubt that we will manage a proper election.” Preparations are already underway. “As of today, this is absolutely urgent,” says Bröchler. »From today onwards there will be one meeting after the other.«

The parties also have to hurry up now. The Berlin Left is currently in the middle of a dispute with five MPs as well as some city councilors and district councilors who have left the party because of differences of opinion about Israel and Palestine, but do not want to resign from their offices and mandates. In an open letter, the Marzahn-NOW local association therefore accuses the five representatives of sticking to the “course of destruction” and of having a “double standard that is typical and characteristic of bourgeois conditions, but must have no place in a socialist party.” And further: “The members of our local association did not run a self-sacrificing election campaign for those who would abandon our party.” This statement from a local association is just the tip of the iceberg. The dissatisfaction is widespread. It’s bubbling.

But the regional association can now use even less unrest than it already does. The Berlin comrades have an advantage over other regional associations of the Left – after two repeat elections in February 2023 and 2024, they are not only used to the usual campaigns in better weather. “We are ready,” assures state chairwoman Franziska Brychcy. “As the Berlin Left, we are familiar with election campaigns in winter – with mulled wine and social politics.”

In terms of content, Brychcy makes accusations against the dismissed FDP Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (“tax gifts to the super-rich”), similar to the left-wing state chairman Sebastian Walter in Brandenburg. He promised on Thursday: “We stand up against a policy that exclusively pursues the interests of the top ten thousand. SPD, Greens, FDP, CDU – they all step down, play the weakest in society against each other and thus do the AfD’s business.

“As the Berlin Left, we are familiar with election campaigns in winter – with mulled wine and social politics.”

Franziska BrychcyState Chairperson

Since a coalition of the CDU, SPD and Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) envisaged in Saxony does not materialize, a new state parliament election could also be held there at the same time as the early federal election. Brandenburg’s left currently consider it unlikely that the same thing will happen in Brandenburg – where the SPD and BSW entered into coalition negotiations on Monday.

In fact, the pressure has increased enormously for Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) to come to an agreement with the BSW state chairman Robert Crumbach and also to satisfy the BSW federal chairman Sahra Wagenknecht. Because if there is a new state parliament election at the same time as or close to the federal election, it will be difficult for Woidke to break away from the negative trend of the federal SPD. This removal was one of his recipes for success in the state elections on September 22nd. »It’s about our country. It takes clarity and stability. “Now there is a need for political responsibility,” says Woidke. That suits Brandenburg, even though the Prime Minister is referring to developments at the federal level. Because he adds: “The constructive forces in the Bundestag must make the necessary decisions together and then bring about new elections.”

However, the Brandenburg SPD cannot use a new state parliament election. Such a new election would probably only be approved by the CDU. This performed worse than ever before in the state elections in September with 12.1 percent. A new state parliament election in March would be an opportunity to do better. The CDU state chairman Jan Redmann only comments on the Bundestag when he says: “There is no way around quick new elections if we want to save our security and prosperity in the face of the current challenges.”

Keyword security: It was only on Tuesday that Redmann took up the cause of upgrading the Bundeswehr at the Holzdorf air base and the Lehnin military training area. In contrast, Berlin’s BSW state chairman Alexander King, who sees his state association ready for an early election campaign, says: “Last but not least, we want to be the Berlin voice for an active peace policy in this election campaign.” The end of the traffic light is good for Berlin, because “the Wrong politics in the federal government has also had an impact on our city.”