Rheine. The European elections are over – winners and losers are still busy analyzing the results. But how did the election turn out in Rheines European twin towns? The town twinning association Rheine asked its partners and compiled the data. The result in a nutshell: in one case, the citizens experienced a blue miracle, and in more ways than one. As in the rest of Europe, more people in Rheines twin cities voted for right-wing populist parties. How did the votes go in Bernburg, Borne (Netherlands), Leiria (Portugal) and Trakai (Lithuania)?
Bernburg: European and local elections were held in the city on the Saale on Sunday, as in the whole of Saxony-Anhalt. In the European elections, the AfD was clearly the strongest party in Bernburg with 36.2 percent, ahead of the CDU (21.2 percent) and the Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance (12.7 percent). Far behind, the SPD achieved 8.2%, the FDP 3.2% and the Greens only 2.4%.
The picture is very different in the local elections in Bernburg. Here, the CDU is the strongest force with 28.7%, ahead of the AfD (25.9%). It was followed by the FDP with 12% and the Left Party with 8.9%. The SPD received 7.3% and the Greens 3.7%. However, the composition of the council does not correspond to the parties’ share of the vote. The AfD’s result in Bernburg would have entitled it to ten seats on the council. As it only put forward four candidates, only these will join the council. The new council will therefore only have 34 members instead of the previous 40.
Borne: The European elections in Borne resulted in major shifts. Gert Wilders’ Party for Freedom gained 13.4 percent to reach 15.5 percent, putting it in second place in the Dutch twin city. The Green-Left and SPD alliance came second with 16.3 percent. That is 9.8 percent less than in the last election. The “New Social Contract” party, a new formation of former Christian Democrats, achieved 15 percent from a standing start. The CDA (CDU) still achieves10.7 % (-18 %). And the Citizens’ Farmers’ Movement (BBB) achieves 9% in its first European election. The FvD, a radical right-wing and Eurosceptic party, which is also close to Vladimir Putin, achieved 2 percent – a fall of 7.4 percent.
Leiria: In the Portuguese twin city, the social-conservative parties that ran together achieved 38.6 percent of the vote. The socialist party received 23.9 percent, the liberals 11.5 percent and the radical right-wing CHEGA party 9.7 percent of the vote. The Greens had to be content with 3.4 percent in Leiria.
TrakaiVoter turnout in Lithuania was at a historic low of 28.6 percent. The Lithuanian Poles/Christian Families campaign achieved 19.4 percent.
percent. It was followed by the Social Democrats with 14.7 percent and the Homeland Union/Christian Democrats with 14 percent. The Liberal Movement achieved 13.8 percent. Former Trakaimayor and now Seim MEP Edita Rudeliene thus failed to make it into the European Parliament for the Liberals. Trakais mayor Andrius Satevicius lamented the low voter turnout in Lithuania: “As a result, some people who are closer to the Russian Duma than to the European Parliament were elected to the new European Parliament.”
-www.friendsineurope.com