VZCZCXRO2806
OO RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAG #0003/01 0281741
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 281741Z JAN 08
FM AMCONSUL HAMBURG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0208
INFO RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN IMMEDIATE 0189
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHAG/AMCONSUL HAMBURG 0228

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HAMBURG 000003 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL GM
SUBJECT: CDU'S WULFF AND THE LEFT: CLEAR WINNERS IN LOWER SAXONY 
ELECTIONS 
 
REF: A. A) HAMBURG 001 
 
     ¶B. B) BERLIN 086 
     ¶C. C) BERLIN 0022 
     ¶D. D) 07 HAMBURG 065 
     ¶E. E) FRANKFURT 265 
 
HAMBURG 00000003  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The big surprise in the Lower Saxony January 
27 elections was not that Minister President Christian Wulff 
(CDU) emerged as the big winner, nor that the SPD did poorly, 
but that the Left achieved 7.1 percent of the vote, thereby 
entering state parliament. .  As expected, the CDU's numbers -- 
42.5 percent -- together with the FDP, with 8.2 percent, will be 
able to continue their governing coalition.  With his 
re-election, Wulff's position as deputy chairperson of the CDU 
on the national level has been strengthened.   He has re-emerged 
as Chancellor Merkel's "crown prince;" and, after Hesse's 
Minister President Koch's poor election result, he is perhaps 
the most likely alternative CDU chancellor candidate.  With the 
lowest results in Lower Saxony since 1947 at 30.3 percent, the 
SPD suffered a significant defeat.  Coalition negotiations 
between the CDU and FDP are scheduled to begin early next week 
and are expected to go smoothly.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
------- 
CDU WINS IN TRADITIONAL "RED" TERRITORY 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
-------- 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) Traditionally, Lower Saxony is a Social Democratic 
Party (SPD) stronghold.  Nevertheless, for the second election 
in a row under Wullf's leadership, the Christian Democratic 
Union (CDU) has come out as the strongest party in the state. 
The election proved that the CDU can win elections with a 
seemingly unpopular reform agenda, such as reduction of benefits 
for the blind, administrative reforms, and even the termination 
of Christmas bonuses for public employees.  Several factors led 
to the party's victory.  Wulff's personal credibility and 
convincing and inclusive style in carrying out the reforms, as 
well as his party's effective means of communicating the need 
for reform, proved successful at the polls.  In election day 
polls, Wulff enjoyed a 67 percent approval rating.  Further, 
polls prior to the election indicated that the population was 
basically satisfied with the political situation and not 
pressing for change (ref A). 
 
¶3. (SBU) The decisive election victory was not only a result of 
the CDU's strength, but also due to the SPD's lack of a popular 
frontrunner.  While the SPD only dropped 3.1 percentage points 
compared to 2003, the party suffered its lowest post-war results 
in Lower Saxony, just barely breaking 30 percent of the vote. 
SPD main candidate Wolfgang Juettner led in the polls on "soft" 
political issues, but was never able to rally the necessary 
support despite campaigning on the minimum wage and other social 
issues.  On January 28, State Party Chair Garrelt Duin lamented 
to the press that the SPD focused too much on voter groups who 
were also served by the Left party.  In particular, both the CDU 
and SPD were hurt by voter turnout which was at its lowest in 
state elections at 57 percent since 1947. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
UNEXPECTED NUMBERS FOR THE LEFT 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The CDU, SPD, Free Democratic Party (FDP), and Green 
representatives with whom Pol/EconOff spoke prior to the 
elections all grossly miscalculated the ability of the Left 
Party to earn sufficient votes in a rural state to enter 
parliament (refs A and D).  The Left Party, along with the 
Greens and FDP, benefited from the low voter turnout, which 
required them to get fewer actual votes in order to overcome the 
five percent hurdle.  Further, the SPD failed in its attempt to 
make the Left Party inconsequential despite moving to the left 
and focusing on social and "justice issues" such as the minimum 
wage.  The Left won most of its votes from previous SPD voters, 
although all of the parties lost voters to them.  The unemployed 
were the party's largest voter block at 27 percent.  The Green 
Party also achieved their best results in Lower Saxony with 8.0 
percent, up 0.4 percent from 2003. 
 
¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: Compared to Koch's aggressive campaign style 
in Hesse (ref E), Wulff's more moderate "Merkel-like" approach 
proved successful in attracting strong support in a largely 
agricultural state.  Further, the lack of engaging election 
issues confirmed his personal popularity among all types of 
voters.   The Left Party's success in both Lower Saxony and 
Hesse gives them strong momentum for the February 24 elections 
 
HAMBURG 00000003  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
in Hamburg, where they are already polling at six percent.  With 
these elections, they have established themselves solidly as a 
political force in the former Western "Laender" with which the 
SPD will have to continue to contend.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶6. (U) This message has been coordinated with Embassy Berlin. 
JOHNSON