The Free Voters (FW) in Saxony want to show unity with a view to the local and state elections in 2024. At a meeting in Oederan, they have closed ranks, explained FW state leader Thomas Weidinger on Thursday. "For the first time, we have succeeded in establishing the connection between the municipal Free Voters and the state association. We close a gap here, which has so far certainly cost us many votes in the state elections."
By their own admission, the FW see their voter potential for the state elections in the double-digit percentage range. "This potential must be raised, and we can only succeed if we combine all forces," said Weidinger. In the 2019 state election, the Free Voters had clearly missed the entry into parliament with 3.4 percent of the second votes.
In addition to adequate municipal financing, the Free Voters want to focus on the issues of family, education and the strengthening of rural areas in the two election campaigns in 2024. Above all, a good education policy and a good family policy are essential for the functioning of a society and have been neglected by the state government for years.
Free voters and voter associations are traditionally strong in municipalities. In the 2019 municipal elections, they came to 25.8 percent of the vote in Saxony. However, since associations are not allowed to run in state elections, the state association Freie Wähler Sachsen was founded as a party. Nationwide, only Bavaria, Brandenburg and Rhineland-Palatinate have so far managed to make it into a state parliament. In Bavaria, the Free Voters even sit in the government. The FW leader there, Hubert Aiwanger, is economics minister and deputy head of government.
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