Voting opened at 8 a.m. local time in Baden-Württemberg on Sunday, with roughly 7.7 million people eligible to cast ballots in the first of five regional votes across Germany this year. Polling suggests a tight contest between Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the environmentalist Green Party, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is expected to significantly increase its share from 2021.
Baden-Württemberg, an economic powerhouse in southwest Germany home to Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Bosch, has been led by the Greens for 15 years under Winfried Kretschmann. The outgoing premier, who turned 78 in May and is stepping down, cast his ballot on Sunday in Sigmaringen. His moderate leadership helped the Greens hold the state since 2011, ending decades of CDU dominance.
This election pits Green candidate Cem Özdemir, the former federal agriculture minister, against Manuel Hagel of the CDU. Hagel had built a lead earlier in the campaign but saw his advantage narrow after a video surfaced showing him making controversial comments about schoolgirls in 2018. Recent surveys put the CDU and Greens level at about 28% each, making the outcome uncertain.
For Chancellor Merz, a CDU win in Baden-Württemberg would bolster his reform agenda and signal broader national momentum. A CDU victory would also represent a return to the state’s pre-2011 political tradition. Conversely, a Green hold would reinforce the party’s continued regional strength despite a poor showing in last year’s national elections.
The AfD is expected to roughly double its previous 9% result from the 2021 state election, reflecting concerns about right-wing gains that could reshape coalition math and regional politics. Voter turnout and shifts among smaller parties will determine which alliances are possible after results are tallied; a clear state-wide outcome is not expected until later in the week.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Bavaria held municipal elections, with some 10 million residents eligible to vote for local councils, district administrators and mayors across 39,300 seats. The mayoral race in Munich, where incumbent Dieter Reiter of the Social Democrats seeks a third term amid recent controversies, is one of the most closely watched contests. Bavaria’s results are also being read as a test of Markus Söder’s Christian Social Union (CSU) statewide popularity.
March 8 also saw planned rallies across Germany for International Women’s Day. In Berlin, a main march organized by the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) and other groups was scheduled to begin in Kreuzberg and proceed to City Hall, with thousands expected to participate. Events and discussions on women’s rights and equality were planned in Hamburg, Munich, Leipzig, Hanover, Kiel and other cities.
On a lighter note from German daily life, a YouGov poll highlighted the growing popularity of doner kebabs. Despite rising prices — an average of €6.70 in 2025, up 47% since 2021 — orders increased by 15% over the same period, with about one in three Germans eating kebabs at least once a month. Market researchers described the kebab as a “crisis-resistant classic,” with remaining customers ordering more frequently even as some former buyers dropped off.
The Baden-Württemberg vote will be closely watched as a barometer of public sentiment toward Merz and as an early indicator ahead of the other regional contests scheduled this year.
