Election in Schleswig-Holstein: SSW is clearly on the rise

Election in Shelswick-Holstein
SSW is clearly on the rise

The SSW is the only party in Schleswig-Holstein that has been exempted from the five per cent ban and reached the best result in party history in Sunday’s election. Mathematically, a second government participation for SSW is possible.

The South Shellswick Voter Association (SSW) is a special feature of Shellswick-Holstein politics. The party of the Danish and Frisian minorities, founded in 1948, has been represented in the state parliament for decades. The five per cent exemption from state and federal elections since 1955 due to the German-Danish Minority Protection Agreement has helped her – even though the SSW does not need this exception.

So far, the SSW has been represented by three MPs in the state parliament, and in the future it may even be five at the committee level. Since the beginning of the millennium, the party has met with increasing interest among citizens, and the share of their vote has risen again to the level last seen in the 1950s. In 2017 it was 3.3 per cent, this time SSW estimates could get above six per cent. In 1947 only one pioneer party had the best results. For the first time in decades, SSW has had a representative in the Bundestag since last year.

The party is primarily anchored in the northern part of the country near the Danish border, where it sometimes gets more than 20 percent of the vote in local elections. But has played a key role at the state level. Between 2012 and 2017 he participated in a state government for the first time in his history. With the SPD and the Green Party, he formed the “Coastal Alliance” and presented Anke Spoorendonk to the Minister of Justice.

An alliance with the CDU is possible, but not impossible

For the first few decades, SSW politics focused on the interests of the Danish and Frisian minorities, such as equipment for Danish-speaking schools. However, since the 1970s, he has positioned himself on common social issues. The SSW is generally left-liberal and largely aimed at political and social trends in Scandinavia.

In the current election campaign, the party focuses primarily on climate protection and socio-political developments. Traditionally there has been a certain closeness to the Greens and the SPD, but the relationship with the CDU has long been strained. It also prompted CDU representatives to question the party’s special status and exemption from the five percent ban. Recently, however, a rapport has occurred. SSW generally does not reject any alliance negotiations with the CDU. However, such an alliance is not considered feasible, even if it is mathematically feasible.

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