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Those Who Have the Vote Can Already Smell the Fraud?The election revealed a questionable strategy by the CDU: The charismatic mayoral candidate Martin Papke used his popularity to gather votes, even though he did not intend to take a seat on the city council. This led to heated debate and surprising election results. 
Well then, off I go to the polling station. Lunch is finished and the better half (perhaps the better-informed half) has already placed the ballots on the dresser. Politics on an empty stomach—even if it’s just local politics—is hard to endure. The strawberry cake is still waiting for me after the trip to the ballot box. Man, there are so many people on the street, almost like a little migration, I think as I set off. Lo and behold, Mr. Neighbor is just coming back from his “loving civic duty.” A quick nod of the head and definitely no diving into a fundamental discussion about the candidates, or else I won’t get home for dinner today. Finally, I’m inside the polling station. Unbelievable how many people are here today. I always vote, but I’ve never had to wait just to make my crosses. A young woman with colorful hair in front of me asks again how many crosses she can make on which ballot. She’s kindly explained, I listen just in case, and then she joins the queue waiting for the voting booths. Then it’s my turn. Hand over the election notification, get checked off the list, receive the ballots, and wait a bit longer. Finally, I sit on an uncomfortable wooden chair and fish out a pen tied with a string in a corner of the “voting booth,” which actually consists of only three gray-painted wooden boards connected by hinges in politically correct gray. I unfold the first sheet. Friday’s newspaper was smaller. I briefly consider how to fold that stupid paper back up later, but that’ll come. Ah, so this is the European election everyone watches so closely to keep the right wing in check and help the stable parties hold their seats. New wind? We don’t need that. Beforehand, I’d used the voting advice app and checked its recommendations. Hmm, I wouldn’t have thought that. My wishes and goals are pursued by two completely different camps. Left and right. I follow what I see as the lesser evil and will be glad later during the results that this party also got seats in the EU Parliament. After the fourth try, I manage to fold the half roll of wallpaper back up and set it aside. A green ballot catches my eye, the only one whose format doesn’t overwhelm me right away. It’s for the district council. Looking closer, and even though I don’t want to admit it, I don’t actually know what the district council does. What is it allowed to decide? Well, I’ll probably find out later at home, I ask my neighbor, who knows everything political anyway. I glance over who’s on the list, make three crosses, and done. Fold it up without mastering the little 1x1 of ballot origami. And on to the next. The last ballot. Bright yellow and packed with so many candidates it makes your head spin. Who are they all? Some are known. They’ve been on the city council or were mayors before. Others have made headlines (sometimes not in a positive way), some names appeared on posters with grinning faces. There’s everything: very young and very old, new and longtime party members. Hey, wasn’t that guy in a different party before? And right at the top, first on the list, is our mayor. But hold on a second. Quickly read the heading again. Yes, it says city council. But as mayor, he can’t be on the city council. He already has a vote there as mayor, and he’s not allowed a second one, which he would have if he were still a council member. That must be a mistake. Although, I did pass some of his posters too. No way, he didn’t do that? What a sly fox. That’s legal election fraud. They “catch” votes with a candidate who doesn’t even want the office in order to secure seats on the council (because the party’s total percentage determines the seats) and then help a weaker candidate get on the council. A clever maneuver. But as the saying goes: The fish stinks from the head. No, this trick is too crude for me, but not everyone sees through it. I scroll further down the list with my finger. Yeah, I know that one, but no, I wouldn’t vote for him. Oh, fresh youthful energy, the Young Union represented too, that’s nice. More candidates... where did the CDU dig up so many? A florist, an insurance lady, two principals, from trainees to retirees, all covered. Oh, the SPD is well represented too. No gifts given to others. The Greens with three candidates, at least a bit more than last time. Oh, look, Gunther is there too. And on to The Left... oh, you know him, and him, and... seems like everyone was mobilized again over there. Who knows if they really need it. The grassroots... hmm, they didn’t get good press, but two non-party members in their ranks, that’s something. Ok. Yeah, I’ve heard of her, and I know him too. Let’s continue. AfD – another media punching bag. Officially, no one likes them, no one ever votes for them, but what they say everyone likes, just wouldn’t admit even under torture. Moving on, what else? We Weißenfels locals… sounds good. But the choices—taste varies. And here’s Uli Mundt as well. That’s my round. Alright, who do I vote for now? As always, the lesser evil and the ones with the most potential. One, two, three crosses and the ballot is done. The huge yellow thing is a bit unwieldy, but I manage to fold it. I stand up with a little sweat on my forehead, wipe it off before carrying the three ballots to the urns. Then I notice a small inscription on my booth: “Shitty AfD” crossed out and replaced with “Awesome AfD.” It didn’t influence my vote, I only just noticed, and I smile. Is that still election advertising or already vandalism? At the ballot box, I slot my ballots in, and the EU ballot gets stuck because the box is too small and too many voters showed up. They probably didn’t expect that. What I did expect was a cup of coffee and my strawberry cake. So I hooked arms with my better half and walked home. On the way, we met some neighbors heading where we came from. They said they’d need time; by the time we left, a queue had already formed at the polling station. There haven’t been this many voters in a long time. On the way, I told my companion that the Papke trick was quite a shady move and wondered if everyone really sees that what the CDU is doing isn’t right. In the evening, when the polling stations closed and the first votes were counted, the numbers updated little by little. The thriller wasn’t as exciting as the election results. Then, after 11 p.m., the results stalled. Papke gathered over 7,000 votes. I’d say they didn’t see through the trick. Would they have voted CDU if the charismatic, tall, young man hadn’t been the party’s figurehead? Probably not. An outcry went through social media. The evil AfD has so many votes. But it was reassured that they only fill three seats (too few candidates). So do they get two votes each? I’ll have to look into that. The next morning at six, a Monday, I’m still tired but curious. The numbers are final, the city council set. Martin Papke is represented not as a councilor, but as mayor, and in his place is a second school principal. Maybe not the worst choice. We’ll see. Still, the trick with deceiving voters leaves a bad taste, and I didn’t expect that from a Martin Papke. The CDU was clearly very afraid of other parties and therefore chose this highly reprehensible path. I wouldn’t have expected that from a Christian Union, where lying, cheating, and deceiving run so counter to their principles. Well, whatever, let’s see what this city council manages to achieve. After all, the bill always comes at the end. Author: AI-Translation - möchte anonym bleiben | vor dem 01.07.2024 |
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