The German Green party Bündnis 90/Die Grünen have recorded an impressive result in the municipal election in Munich, where they received their best ever result. Winning 16.6% of the votes, the Greens recorded a 3.6% increase since the last municipal elections.
The result is a fantastic sign for the Greens coming into the European elections in May, after German federal elections in September saw the Greens record a disappointing 8.4% result. As the European elections approach, the party is currently polling at 11%.
In 2009, they won 12.3% of the votes and became the second biggest collection of MEPs in the Green Group. Unlike the 2009 European elections where the electoral threshold was 5%, the constitutional court has ruled that there will be no threshold in the elections in May. This may well make it more difficult for the Greens to return as many MEPs. But, the impressive result in Munich shows that Green policies still resonate very strongly with voters.
Speaking about the result in Munich, Sebastian Weisenburger (Chairman of the Munich Greens) said, “We have had the historically best result of the Munich Greens. The citizens of Munich have shown that they want to have more Green in the city council. We have a clear voter mandate to bring our issues with full force in the next election period. "
On March 20, the Munich Greens will meet and discuss possible coalition negotiations and the outcome of the election.