Particle.news
Download on the App Store
9 ARTICLES
·
3h ago

CDU Edges Ahead in Rhineland-Palatinate as AfD Surges and SPD Slumps

Preliminary returns signal a rebound for Merz after Baden‑Württemberg.

Members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) wait for the first election polls for the federal state election in Rhineland-Palatinate, in Mainz, Germany, March 22, 2026. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
Gordon Schnieder, top candidate of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, reacts outside a polling station after voting in the federal state election of Rhineland-Palatinate, in Birresborn, Germany, March 22, 2026. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen
Gordon Schnieder, top candidate of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, next to his wife Diane, casts his vote in the federal state election of Rhineland-Palatinate, at a polling station in Birresborn, Germany, March 22, 2026. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen

Overview

  • An ARD forecast after polls closed put the CDU at roughly 30.5–30.9%, the SPD around 25–27%, and the AfD near 19–20% in Rhineland‑Palatinate.
  • Preliminary results indicate the CDU is poised to reclaim the state leadership for the first time since 1991, with Gordon Schnieder on course to unseat SPD Premier Alexander Schweitzer.
  • The SPD’s share fell by about 10 percentage points to roughly 25.8%, intensifying questions for the party’s national leadership.
  • With no clear majority expected and other parties rejecting cooperation with the AfD, a CDU–SPD coalition is viewed as the likeliest state‑level arrangement pending final tallies.
  • The vote is the second contest in a super election year seen as a national barometer before September races in eastern states where the AfD polls strongly.