Berlin voters: ‘It’s going to be tough’

Rainer Theswald walks in an automatic Schönhauser under the overcast Berlin sky. He favors the CDU to form the next government, despite the record poor election result and the fact that the party is second only to the Social Democratic Socialist Party.

– I see that the Christian Democratic Union is the most appropriate to lead the country. They want to address the environmental issue, but with the business community, he says, adding that he believes the party made a mistake that it chose to be led by Armin Laschet.

Jamaica makes the most sense

Theswald believes that the most reasonable solution now is the so-called Jamaica coalition, with the Christian Democrats (who have black as the party), liberals (who have yellow for the party) and the Greens.

– It is important to get the greens on the train, as well as the FDP, with its policy for entrepreneurs. But with CDU in the lead, which can slow down a bit.

Up the street at the intersection of “Ecke Schönhauser,” known from the 1957 East German classic of the same name, Vadim Henselder rushes on his way to meet a friend. He thinks the election result is “good,” even if it’s not exactly what he had hoped for.

– It’s at least a small step, he says.

He wanted to see the left coalition

He would have preferred to cooperate with the Left party D-Link, which now seems more unlikely than before, since the Social Democrats, the Greens and D-Link cannot get a majority in the Bundestag.

— but they’re also a tough opposition party, he says.

Kim Pfaff himself ran for the small, EU-friendly Volt party election for a constituency in the state of Hesse. You see the result as disappointing.

– It would be difficult for three parties to cooperate, she says.

– Anyway, I hope the CDU is not included. Sixteen years in power is enough.

The “least bad” traffic light

Looking at the election result, Pfaff now sees the so-called traffic light coalition, with the Social Democrats (red), liberals (yellow) and the Greens as the most reasonable alternative.

– It’s at least bad. But it bothers me that it all revolves around exactly that, to settle for less ill. Things don’t change after that.