Georg Kurz claps his hands over his head. "Oh, shit," he says. "I'm only realizing what's going on here!" He hugs Ricarda Lang, the spokeswoman for the Green Youth. "That's so blatant," she says. Her forehead touches his. Weeks of campaigning are behind them. In short, spokesman for the Green Youth in Munich and Lang are in the Muffathalle in the Bavarian state capital.
A few hours ago, they got the first extrapolation to the state election. Hundreds have gathered for the election party, the hall is full. On the tables are paper blankets in the pattern of the Bavarian flag in white-green. Nearly 18 percent have brought the Greens, have become the second strongest force.
Before that, as the green top candidate Katharina Schulze emphasized again and again that evening, they were never double digits. In Bavaria's cities, they became the strongest force.
Landtag election Bavaria 2018
ARD | ZDF
Extrapolation ARD, 0.00 clock
Total vote result
Shares in percent
Christian Social Union
37.2
-10.5
SPD
9.6
-11
Free voters
11.7
+2.7
green
17.7
+9.1
FDP
5
+1.7
The left
3.1
+1
AFD
10.3
+10.3
other
5.4
-3.3
allocation of seats
Total: 207
Majority: 104 seats
0
23
38
26
11
85
24
The Left (0)
SPD (23)
Green (38)
Free Voters (26)
FDP (11)
CSU (85)
AfD (24)
Source: ARD / Infratest Dimap
Extrapolation ZDF, 10:45 pm
Total vote result
Shares in percent
Christian Social Union
37.4
-10.3
SPD
9.3
-11.3
Free voters
11.8
+2.8
green
17.8
+9.2
FDP
5
+1.7
The left
3.2
+1.1
AFD
10.3
+10.3
other
5.2
-3.5
allocation of seats
Total: 192
Majority: 97 seats
0
20
37
25
10
78
22
The Left (0)
SPD (20)
Green (37)
Free Voters (25)
FDP (10)
CSU (78)
AfD (22)
Source: ZDF / Research Group Elections
Results in detail
The Greens are the big winners in Bavaria this evening. But it could not be enough for government participation.
Because not only they, also the free voters (FW) have increased and come to more than eleven percent, their best result in a state election. So it seems to be enough for a coalition of the Free Voters and the CSU. In terms of content, they are close to each other - and FW boss Hubert Aiwanger has made it clear that he absolutely wants to govern.
The halls of the Free Voters and the Greens lie side by side in the parliament, they even share the opulent buffet on this evening. In the hall of the Greens are huge sunflowers bouquets, the hall of the Free Voters is bathed in a warm orange. Aiwanger enters the hall, "Hubert! Hubert!" call. He stands on the stage, his black suit sitting a bit loose, he pushes his chin a little before.
"Bottom line, it's enough for a bourgeois coalition," he says. They want to prevent black and green games. He called on Mr. Söder to enter talks quickly. He also wants to make it as easy as possible for him. So far, the terms of the Free Voters read more like an application as a coalition partner.
Greens managed to stage themselves as "anti-CSU"
And the Greens, the winners of the evening, who can hardly believe their luck? They also want to govern, compete with the Free Voters, so to speak. Thus, the top candidate Ludwig Hartmann the ARD says: "I think you have to think about it, if you can bring together 'The best of both worlds' maybe one day."
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Party election parties: Stagediving in the Greens, silence at the CSUBut unlike the Free Voters, the Greens and the CSU are still far from each other. They argue about gender equality, family policy - and especially migration. It's not necessarily the conservative issues that made the Greens so strong.
Instead, they managed, as opposed to SPD, to stage themselves as a kind of "anti-CSU". According to current immigration statistics, 210,000 voters came from the SPD and 180,000 from the CSU. This shows that the Greens have managed to largely unite the left-wing camp. They have scored with CSU issues such as Christianity and the preservation of nature, but of course also benefited from the crisis of the SPD.
For the party leadership, the result is very important
But before all government rulings, the Greens want one thing above all else: to celebrate. The celebrities from Berlin and the top candidates move into the full hall of the state parliament with jubilation. You can hardly move, big cameras block the way. Ex-party leader Cem Özdemir has come, party leader Robert Habeck is there, parliamentary leader Anton Hofreiter and Bundestag Vice President Claudia Roth.
"Dear Greens, do you hear me?" he calls Habeck, he speaks first. They hear and clap. The fact that it is his turn is typical of this campaign of the Greens. The party leadership from Berlin is extremely present, it is very important to show that this is their election campaign. Bavaria should change the republic, it should make open, for the Greens as the strongest force in the left-liberal camp.
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Since it would be desirable to support the new quasi-people's party immediately with a government participation. The Greens are already in ten state governments, in Baden-Württemberg they lead a green-black coalition.
From Baden-Württemberg, however, the green Musterländle, came last disturbing news: The Greens lost the mayoral election in Freiburg, now they fear for their eco-conservative ancestral land. Since the election results in Bavaria just located. Especially here government would be a gain.
Video: Quick analysis of the first results
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But at the Bavarian base there are also doubts as to whether they could govern with the CSU. A man says he thinks it's going to be difficult. In terms of content, the Greens would have to show some success in negotiating their base in order to convince them of the black-and-green project in Bavaria. But there are too many ideologues, he says. On both sides.