Schwesig campaigns for re-election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, battling AfD lead and federal SPD headwinds

Manuela Schwesig is fighting for every percentage point in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and taking on the AfD. This also puts pressure on the CDU.

Published: September 13, 2026, 6:31 p.m.

Schwesig tours all 36 constituencies. In August she campaigned in Schwerin. Photo: Jon MacDougall/afp

By Anna Lehmann, from Lübtheen

Two dozen people attended a public discussion with Manuela Schwesig, including a man in a denim jacket from Bad Doberan. "First of all, a huge compliment for your great work. You could be Chancellor," he said. The Prime Minister replied with a smile: "Thank you. We already have a chancellor. My place is in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania."

That was two years ago. At the time, Schwesig was supporting her party colleagues in the Brandenburg election campaign, and the Chancellor came from the SPD. Today, Schwesig is fighting for her position as Prime Minister — and against the decline of her party.

There are good reasons to believe she will win this election. Point by point, the SPD is creeping closer to the AfD. Some hope that Schwesig will then also save the SPD — and perhaps lead it back to the Chancellery. But there are also good reasons against it. The AfD has been ahead in polls in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for months. The SPD has slipped to 12 percent at the federal level. The party can hardly afford an election loser as its candidate for chancellor.

*This text first appeared in wochentaz, our weekly newspaper from the left. Every week, wochentaz* covers the world as it is — and as it could be. A left-wing weekly newspaper with a voice, attitude, and the special taz view of the world. New every Saturday at the kiosk and of course with a subscription.

Manuela Schwesig brushes aside personnel debates like annoying flies: "Anyone who knows me knows that I concentrate on what I'm doing at the moment." Her goal is to make the SPD the strongest force and remain Prime Minister for the next five years.

An Election Campaign Like a Bike Ride

The conversation with her takes place five weeks before the election in a former manor house in Lübtheen. Around 150 people want to discuss issues with her in the garden. The taz has 25 minutes before Till Backhaus, constituency candidate and agriculture minister, picks her up for the preliminary meeting. "Looking a little pale, girl," he says. "Do you think so? Should I put on some make-up again?" Schwesig turns to her campaign manager, who reassures her: "No, you look like you always do. Enough color."

She looks a little tired. The election campaign is like a bike ride in a constant headwind with heavy luggage. Traditionally, state politics dominate state elections. But the bad reputation of the federal government and its unpopular reforms weigh on local campaigners. The Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, Sven Schulze, was voted out of office a week earlier.

Schwesig tries to shed ballast in time. She has been criticizing the federal government's policies for weeks. "Mr. Merz wants to abolish the tax-free pension after 45 years. If you don't want that, then support me," she posts. Since the AfD's victory in Magdeburg, she has sharpened her strategy. "I am your woman against blue." Schwesig is putting everything on one card — hers. She walks through all 36 constituencies, seeking conversation.

"I like to fight," she tells the taz. Unlike Schulze, who drove a slalom course, Schwesig and the SPD set the direction early on and established three guardrails: economy, family, and cohesion. "People don't look at big headlines, but rather whether things will improve for them in their everyday lives," she says, biting into a waffle. She doesn't promise anything she can't keep.

Clear Focus, Clear Role, Clear Choice

"As a mother, I think the referendum to halve group sizes in daycare centers is great, but it is not affordable." That is why she and the initiative agreed on a realistic plan for how groups could be halved over the next few years. She wants to remain credible.