That Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) narrow victory in the Brandenburg regional elections Last week promised an oxygen tank for Olaf Scholz. The SPD managed to turn around the polls and eventually relegate the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to second place, thanks in large part to its candidate and federal state premier Dietmar Woidke. It can be said that the latter still won despite his party and Chancellor Scholz, who was absent from the campaign and has a bad public opinion.
The oxygen tank that promised results in Brandenburg now threatens to become a noose that could strangle Scholz's 'traffic light coalition' in the federal government. The failure of the Social Democratic chancellor's two partners signals that the stormy autumn of politics is only just beginning.