Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - After the defeat of the Liberals in the state elections in Lower Saxony, Baden-Württemberg's FDP chairman Michael Theurer also called for consequences for the party's federal politics. "As the FDP, we shouldn't draw any hasty conclusions from this nail-biter," said Theurer on Sunday evening. "But we can't just go back to business as usual." The election results must be analyzed in detail. The traffic light remains operational. "At the same time, the FDP's handwriting must become more visible, especially in the area of economic and medium-sized business policy," demanded Theurer.
FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai had previously formulated it similarly and announced that the FDP wanted to make a stronger impression in the federal traffic light coalition. "The role and voice of the FDP in this coalition must be even more recognizable in the future than it has been up to now," Djir-Sarai emphasized on Sunday in ARD's "Berliner Runde".
The Baden-Württemberg SPD state leader Andreas Stoch, on the other hand, congratulated the election winner and party friend on the success: "This is a clear government mandate so that Stephan Weil will remain Prime Minister of Lower Saxony," he said. The voters had also confirmed Weil's constructive and level-headed course to the federal government.
The SPD clearly emerged as the strongest force in the state elections. Weil is now heading for a third term. According to projections by ARD and ZDF, he has a majority in the state parliament for his desired coalition with the Greens. His previous coalition partner, the CDU, had the worst election result in decades. Country chief Bernd Althusmann announced on Sunday evening that he would resign from office.
