Willingmann rejects claims that Germany's major parties are nearing their end

Armin Willingmann does not believe the weak showing of Germany's established parties in Saxony-Anhalt signals the end of the CDU and SPD as major popular parties.

“I would not speak of the end of the major popular parties at this point,” the SPD's lead candidate said after a party meeting in Magdeburg. He acknowledged, however, that eastern Germany has particular political conditions, including less intense ties between voters and parties. Voting behavior there, he said, is volatile.

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I would not speak of the end of the major popular parties at this point.

The AfD won a historic 43.8% in the state election. The CDU dropped to 17.2%, while the SPD remained in single digits with 9.3%.

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There simply are not such strong ties to parties here in the east.

Willingmann argued that a party does not become a major popular party solely by winning a large share of the vote. It must offer something to the entire breadth of the population and appeal to all social groups.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a CDU member, had expressed concern about the future of the traditional major parties. “I can only see that the two major popular parties we once had are seriously under threat. That has been true of the SPD for some time, but it is true of us as well,” he said.

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I can only see that the two major popular parties we once had are seriously under threat. That has been true of the SPD for some time, but it is true of us as well.