The SPD in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has elected Minister-President Manuela Schwesig as the top candidate for the state election scheduled for September 20th. She secured 90 out of 91 delegate votes at the party conference in Wismar on Saturday, translating to an impressive result of 98.9 percent, with only one opposing vote recorded.
This turnout surpassed Schwesig’s previous mandate from five years ago, when she received 96.4 percent of the votes. The party leadership views this outcome as a significant demonstration of internal cohesion at the start of the election campaign. Furthermore, Erwin Sellering, Schwesig’s predecessor as minister-president, openly backed the current incumbent on Sunday, despite earlier disagreements between the two.
During her address, Schwesig advocated for the continued implementation of the current government agenda, emphasizing that the SPD aims to maintain stable political conditions even after the vote. However, current opinion polls place the Social Democrats in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern between 23 and 27 percent, which is significantly behind the AfD, which is polling at 34 to 37 percent.
