Germany's Olaf Scholz suffers loss at Berlin election

Result puts question mark over coalition between Social Democrats, Greens and Linke party

A man casts his vote in local elections at a polling station on February 12 in Berlin. Getty

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats on Sunday fell behind the opposition conservatives in Berlin for the first time in more than two decades after a heavy setback in a regional poll.

The Social Democrats lost the vote on local issues, but the disappointing result comes as Mr Scholz faces widespread criticism for hesitating to provide military support for Ukraine after the Russian invasion last year.

The chancellor's party slipped to their worst post-war result in the capital during the court-ordered rerun of the election in 2021.

The conservative CDU, in opposition in the city and in the federal Parliament, surged to about 28 per cent, up from 18 per cent.

Berlin, one of the country's 16 federal states, was ordered by courts to return to the ballot boxes after the 2021 election was found not to meet basic democratic standards amid widespread voting problems.

The outcome of the rerun puts a question mark over the continuation of the coalition between the Social Democrats, Greens and far-left Linke party.

Olaf Scholz's first year in power - in pictures

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and former chancellor Angela Merkel during the official transfer of office on December 8, 2021 in Berlin. Getty Images

Olaf Scholz takes his oath of office from Bundestag President Baerbel Bas at the Bundestag on December 8, 2021. Getty Images

Olaf Scholz telephones US President Joe Biden, who congratulated him on taking office, in December 2021. Getty Images

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Olaf Scholz in Warsaw, Poland, in December 2021. Getty Images

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Olaf Scholz hold a meeting over Ukraine security at the Kremlin, in Moscow, in February. AFP

Mr Scholz receives a standing ovation after a speech on Russia's invasion of Ukraine during a meeting of the German federal parliament in February. Getty Images

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a joint press conference with Mr Scholz in the Downing Street briefing room in London in April. Getty Images

Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron stand in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, illuminated in the colors of the Ukrainian flag in May. Getty Images

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi, French President Emmanuel Macron and Mr Scholz on a night train travelling to Kyiv, Ukraine, in June. Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with Mr Scholz and Mr Macron in Kyiv, Ukraine, in June. Getty Images

Olaf Scholz receives a model of an Airbus Zero E aircraft from trainees on the first day of the ILA Berlin 2022 air show in June. Getty Images

From left: Mario Draghi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, US President Joe Biden, Olaf Scholz, Boris Johnson, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Emmanuel Macron and European Council President Charles Michel at the three-day G7 summit in Germany in June. Getty Images

Mr Scholz in August with a Siemens gas turbine intended for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline in Russia. Getty Images

Mr Scholz being shown a Gepard anti-aircraft gun tank during his visit to the arms-maker Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. Germany promised Ukraine 30 Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft tanks. Getty Images

Mr Scholz and interim Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid after talks at the Chancellery in Berlin in September. Getty Images

Mr Scholz while visiting the Bundeswehr army training centre in Ostenholz in October. Getty Images

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Mr Scholz meet on the sidelines of the Cop27 climate summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Sharm El Sheikh in November. AFP

"If we have an opportunity for an SPD-led government, then we will try to organise a stable majority for it," incumbent Social Democrat Mayor Franziska Giffey told ZDF after first estimates.

But early figures suggested her junior coalition partner the Greens could finish ahead of the Social Democrats with about 18.5 per cent of the vote.

The Linke party's share of the vote was meanwhile estimated at about 13 per cent.

Ms Giffey and the Social Democrats seem to have been penalised by voters after violent scenes in the capital over the New Year, with revellers attacking the emergency services with fireworks in neighbourhoods with a large immigrant population.

The conservative opposition accused Berlin's administration of failing to control the situation and sparked a citywide debate over integration.

The election was also marked by discontent over rising rent prices in the capital and disputes over transport policy.

The result of the elections reflect the Social Democrats' struggles nationally, as Mr Scholz's government, in power for just over a year, wrestles with rampant inflation and the fall-out of the war in Ukraine.

Drones and weapons supplied to Ukraine - in pictures

Turkeysold its Bayraktar TB2 armed drones to Ukraine. They can fly at an altitude of 7,500 metres and swoop down to attack targets. AFP

The US also gave 700 of its Switchblade kamikaze drones. AP

Cheap commercial drones like the DJI Mavic series have been modified in Ukraine. AFP

Germany will follow the US in providing a Patriot missile defence system, pictured above, to Ukraine. Reuters

FIM-92 Stinger rockets have been donated to help Ukrainian infantry engage aircraft and drones. The shoulder-launched missiles can shoot down aircraft. Photo: US Army

Germany donated 25 Flakpanzer Gepard all-weather-capable self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. AFP

The High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or Himars, can simultaneously launch several precision-guided missiles. The US has given Ukraine projectiles with a range of about 130 kilometres. EPA

M777 howitzers and about 300,000 shells have been donated to give Ukraine an accurate artillery platform with a range of 50 kilometres. EPA

Ukraine has been sent at least 5,000 of the anti-tank weapons known as NLAWs. These shoulder-launched rockets have proved deadly in the field. PA

Ukrainian troops have also received thousands of Javelin anti-tank missiles. Bloomberg

Poland and the Czech Republic sent Russian-made T72 tanks, which Ukraine has used for decades, to ease integration and cut down training time. EPA

France as announced its plan to give AMX-10 RC “scout tanks” to Ukraine. "This is the first time that western-made armoured vehicles are being delivered in support of the Ukrainian army," a French official said. AFP

Shortly after the French, the US said it would send Bradley fighting vehicles to provide "a level of firepower and armour that would bring advantages on the battlefield”. Reuters

The UK sent their phased-out Saxon armoured vehicles. They found new life protecting infantry units in transit and dealing with tough off-road conditions. Getty Images

Denmark has supplied Harpoon anti-ship launchers to help Ukraine defend its coasts. AFP

The US sent 20 Soviet and Russian made Mi-17 helicopters to Ukraine that had initially been bought for the Afghan government in 2010. AP

Germany has also supplied its latest version of the IRIS-T air defence system designed to shoot down missiles at altitudes up to 20 kilometres. Getty Images

Ukraine has also been given thousands of small arms, bullet proof vests, medical kits, litres of fuel, granades and other weapons systems. Reuters

The difficulties for Mr Scholz's coalition with the Greens and the liberal FDP have been to the benefit of opposition parties.

Along with the conservative CDU, the far-right AfD increased its share of the vote slightly to about nine per cent in Sunday's rerun, according to the estimates.

The rerun in Berlin is only the second time in German post-war history that a state election has been declared invalid, after irregularities were reported in a vote in Hamburg in 1991.

The organisation of the 2021 election on the same day as a national vote, a local housing referendum and the Berlin marathon had led to widespread logistical problems.

Ballot papers got stuck in traffic as roads were closed for the race, with lines forming outside polling stations struggling to process votes.

Sunday's election took place under the watchful gaze of international election observers from the Council of Europe, invited in by the city to restore trust after the 2021 fiasco.

Berlin also called up an army of 42,000 election helpers, 8,000 more than last time, and gave polling stations extra ballots to avoid shortages.

The German Parliament has also resolved for national elections to be partly repeated in Berlin, with the date of that vote yet to be set.