The Social Democrats suffer crushing defeat in Schleswig-Holstein

“OF COURSE THESPDSPDNRWCDUSPDSPDAD, result is bitter,” said Saskia Esken, putting it mildly after the cataclysmic defeat of her Social Democratic Party () at a state election in Schleswig-Holstein on May 8th. Yet the co-chair of the party insisted that despite the worst score in its history in a place that was once a stronghold, the can still win the vote that really counts, in North Rhine-Westphalia (), Germany’s most populous state, on May 15th.The centre-right Christian Democratic Union () of Daniel Günther, the incumbent state premier, won 43.4% of the vote in Schleswig-Holstein, up more than 11 percentage points on the previous election. The got only 16%, down about the same amount. The Free Democrats, who are in coalition with the at the national level, also had a poor night. But the worst reverse was suffered by the far-right f which was kicked out of a state parliament for the first time in its history (which admittedly dates back only nine years), as it failed to meet the 5% threshold for gaining any seats. It was a happier day for the Green Party, also in the ruling national coalition, with 18.3%, a gain of 5.4 points.