As a Berlin correspondent, you quickly realize: It is not possible to write about every election in Germany.
Germany has 16 federal states, i.e. states. Everyone holds elections for their state parliaments, or Landtag elections as they are called in Germany. Elections are held at different times and the term of office is generally five years. But as always in Germany, there are exceptions – the parliament in Bremen sits for four years.
The old Hanseatic cities of Bremen and Hamburg are city-states and thus have the status of federal states. So does Berlin, which also has its historical background. After World War II, West Berlin became a West German enclave, surrounded by the GDR. The city gained the status of its own federal state within West Germany, and retained it after reunification.
In other words, a year rarely goes by without an election in Germany. The year 2026 has been a so-called super election year, when as many as five federal states held state elections. In addition, three federal states held municipal elections. Next year there will be four federal elections: In Schleswig-Holstein, Saarland, North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. In addition, a so-called state election in Bremen.
In Sweden, the parties always have an opportunity to vent between elections. In Germany, however, they are constantly forced to be on their toes. Every state election is to be considered a barometer. The most important election is the parliamentary election every four years. Then it is to a great advantage if you have a strong regional election result to fall back on.
A nationally small party can be large in a federal state. For example, the Greens usually get 8-10 percent of the vote in federal elections. But in Baden-Württemberg, they are a ruling party that won this year's state election with just over 30 percent.
The left-wing party Die Linke also gets 8-10 percent in federal elections, but recently became the largest party in Berlin with over 25 percent.
The state elections have become the most important springboard for the radical right AFD. In East German states, the party has grown breathtakingly fast, for example in Thuringia, Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The clearest example is Thuringia: from 10.6 percent in 2014 to 32.8 ten years later.
That the AFD has progressed so strongly this year in both Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has shaken German politics at the national level. At the same time, the CDU has produced lousy results and Chancellor Friedrich Merz has to explain himself time and time again. It shifts focus and energy from the government's reform work - which was already going smoothly as it was.
The strong federalism in Germany has above all historical reasons. For hundreds of years, today's Germany consisted of kingdoms and principalities, which built alliances or went to war with each other. It was only in the 1870s that the Iron Chancellor Bismarck managed to unite them. Germany is still perhaps the most federalist country in Europe.
Diversity is part of what Germany is. But the many decision-making levels are also seen as a guarantor against extremism. Decision-making is slow and many factors must be taken into account. It has been seen as an advantage, given Germany's history.
Ironically, the tight elections of late have played into the radicals' hands. The autumn elections in two East German federal states gave the AFD a huge push forward and seriously damaged the government.
Friedrich Merz maintains that if only the reforms are given time to work, support for the right-wing radicals will decrease. But the reforms are actually slowed down by the constant elections. The CDU's government partner, the Social Democrats, are, for example, beginning to get cold feet about the pension reform, which is very unpopular among voters.
The state elections have simply become a straitjacket for the Merz government.
Read more:
Anna-Lena Laurén: The CDU clapped through – the crisis for Merz deepens
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Shock and self-criticism at the CDU's election vigil: "The Germans are never satisfied"
"All of Germany will wake up and we will become normal people again"
