{"id":12778,"date":"2021-03-18T13:04:31","date_gmt":"2021-03-18T13:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=12778"},"modified":"2021-03-18T13:04:31","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T13:04:31","slug":"why-2021-is-germanys-super-year-superwahljahr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/why-2021-is-germanys-super-year-superwahljahr\/","title":{"rendered":"Why 2021 Is a “Super Year” for Germany (a Superwahljahr)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Germany is in a\u00a0Superwahljahr\u00a0<\/em>(n, super election year). There is a Bundestagswahl\u00a0<\/em>(f, Federal Parliament election), sure. But wouldn’t that just make it an election year? What’s super about it?<\/p>\n

Elections, elections, elections!<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"Superwahljahr<\/a>

Germany and its 16 Bundesl\u00e4nder (Image by Uwe Beier<\/a> at Pixabay<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

Germany is a federation, like the United States. This means that each of the 16 German states, called Bundesl\u00e4nder<\/em><\/a> (n, “federal countries”), has its own state parliament as well, called\u00a0Landestag <\/em>(m, “country parliament”). These state parliaments are elected in a\u00a0Landtagswahl <\/em>(f, Landestag <\/em>election) by the people that live in the Bundesland<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But not only\u00a0Landtagswahlen\u00a0<\/em>can lead to a\u00a0Superwahljahr<\/em>. Also a large number of Kommunalwahlen\u00a0<\/em>(f, local elections) can be the foundation for such a super year.<\/p>\n

When there are many\u00a0Bundesl\u00e4nder\u00a0<\/em>that have their Landtagswahlen<\/em> or Kommunalwahlen <\/em>in the same year, we’re getting close to a Superwahljahr<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There is no strict definition with how many Wahlen <\/em>(f, elections) a year becomes a Superwahljahr<\/em>, but a common theme is that at least one election needs to take place in which all Germans get to vote. This can be the\u00a0Bundespr\u00e4sidentenwahl <\/em>(Federal President election)<\/a> or the\u00a0Bundestagswahl\u00a0<\/em>or just the\u00a0Europawahl\u00a0<\/em>(European elections), in which the German representatives for the European Parliament are elected.<\/p>\n

With so many elections, you might think that such\u00a0Superwahljahre\u00a0<\/em>are quite common. But they are rarer than you might think.\u00a0Since the\u00a0Legislaturperiode\u00a0<\/em>(f, legislative period) for each\u00a0Bundesland\u00a0<\/em>starts at a different time and have different lengths, a\u00a0Superwahljahr\u00a0<\/em>does not always happen.<\/p>\n

So far, Germany has had\u00a0Superwahljahre\u00a0<\/em>in 1990, 1994, 2009, 2011 and this year, 2021.<\/p>\n

This year is marked by the\u00a0Bundestagswahl\u00a0<\/em>in september, in which\u00a0Bundeskanzlerin\u00a0<\/em>(Federal Chancellor) Angela Merkel<\/a> is not going to run again. After 16 years of Angie<\/em>, as she is sometimes called, a change might be coming to the German government. Besides that, there are several\u00a0Kommunalwahlen\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Landtagswahlen\u00a0<\/em>this year. For all\u00a0Termine\u00a0<\/em>(m, dates), take a look at this website<\/a>. The\u00a0Landtagswahl\u00a0<\/em>in\u00a0Th\u00fcringen\u00a0<\/em>(Thuringa) of April 25 was cancelled due to the\u00a0Coronavirus<\/em><\/a> (m\/n1<\/a><\/sup>TWO articles? Yes, this happens sometimes in German. We wrote a post about it)<\/span><\/a>, coronavirus). Most likely, that\u00a0Landtagswahl\u00a0<\/em>will now be held on the same day as the\u00a0Bundestagswahl<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Austria also has the concept of the\u00a0Superwahljahr<\/em>, with one in 1994 and 2009<\/a>. And fun fact:\u00a0das Superwahljahr\u00a0<\/em>was chosen as\u00a0Wort des Jahres<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>in 1994!<\/p>\n

The official\u00a0<\/strong>Superwahljahr <\/em><\/strong>kick-off!<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Image by Mika Baumeister<\/a> at Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

This past weekend, the first elections in the\u00a0Superwahljahr\u00a0<\/em>were held. This is coined as the\u00a0Start in das Superwahljahr 2021\u00a0<\/em>(start into the super election year 2021).<\/a> With\u00a0Landtagswahlen <\/em>in the South of the country, Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg <\/em>and Rheinland-Pfalz <\/em>elected new state parliaments.<\/p>\n

Why is this a big deal, you might say? What makes this year different, just because there are many Wahlen<\/em>?<\/p>\n

The elections before the\u00a0Bundestagswahl\u00a0<\/em>are often seen as a way to gauge the\u00a0Stimmung\u00a0<\/em>(f, mood) in the country. Are there big shifts in preferences in a\u00a0Bundesland<\/em>? That might also reflect a preference in the federal elections. This makes the whole year more exciting!<\/p>\n

Think of it as the US Election Day but drawn out over an entire year. Every time a (swing) state is called, it sets off discussion and speculation for what’s to come.<\/p>\n

This is even more real in Germany, where this discussion comes weeks before the next election sometimes, so the outcomes could actually influence what\u00a0B\u00fcrgerInnen <\/em>(m, f, citizens) elect in their\u00a0Landtagswahl <\/em>or in the national election.<\/p>\n

With the results of these first two elections, a lot of speculation already started. While not a lot changed, there were some surprises. Merkel’s party, the CDU, had some of its worst results in both Bundesl\u00e4nder <\/em>ever, while the contentious AfD<\/a> lost some seats too. Overall, the\u00a0Gr\u00fcnen\u00a0<\/em>(Greens) got the best results, with better results in both\u00a0Bundesl\u00e4nder<\/em>. Even smaller the liberal party, the FDP, gained some seats. This started a discussion that the CDU\/CSU might not be the biggest force this time around in the Bundestagswahlen<\/em>. Perhaps the\u00a0Gr\u00fcnen\u00a0<\/em>could get a federal victory, too? It remains to be seen!<\/p>\n

What do you think about the discussions around the meaning of these elections for other elections? Are you voting in any of these elections? I’m curious, so let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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