Elif Eralp and Manuela Schwesig: Female election victory

One thing can be said from last election Sunday: two women won the race. And this despite all the uncertainties that accompany the formation of the two state governments in the coming weeks. And this despite the far too high AfD results now also in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin. When has a top candidate from the Left Party been able to celebrate her election victory like Elif Eralp did in Berlin? Eralp - who has only been in the House of Representatives since 2021 - managed to more than double her party's election results and thus achieved the best result of the Berlin Left Party.

Manuela Schwesig has achieved something similar in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, even though the AfD became the strongest party in the state: Schwesig's "catch-up race", with which she turned the 19 percent approval for the Social Democrats a year ago into over 35 percent by Sunday, saves both the state SPD and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania from a disaster, as can be seen elsewhere and especially in the federal government.

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The concept of the two completely different politicians has apparently worked: Eralp in Berlin with a tough announcement for socialization and against excessive rents, Schwesig in the north with a tough rejection of the government program of Merz, Klingbeil, Bas. But one thing unites both women: they have shown themselves to be open to people's problems and have demonstrated social skills.

After the elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, there is a threat of an AfD government for the first time. The taz reports what is at stake - and who is now defending democracy. All texts about the series can be found here.

This does not mean the willingness to provide care, which is still classified as “typically female”, but rather the understanding of people’s needs. And yet there were two women who recognized how important such a speech is. When did we hear something similar from men like Friedrich Merz? Instead of working on the other parties, especially the AfD, Eralp and Schwesig pushed through with their own issues. The social question has long been as feminist as it is universal.