Oscars for Abela and Rehlinger - a podcast by Sam Rippon and Chern Han Mah

This week's episode looks both back at results from two elections in Europe last week – a regional election in the German state of Saarland and national parliamentary elections in Malta. In Saarland, the SPD won their first outright majority in a state election since Hamburg in 2011 and continues the success of Olaf Scholz after last year’s federal election. How did the SPD pull of such a victory? Does it reflect a Scholz honeymoon period? And will this wave of success carry on into state elections later in the year?

In Malta, the Labour Party has won a third successive majority government, building on their vote share from last time and returning Robert Abela to the premiership. Sam and Chern discuss the potential reasons for this victory and what it means for the Nationalist opposition who will be nearing a decade in opposition. What was the impact of the Daphne Caruana Galizia case on the election? What have been the key ingredients to the continued success of the Labour Party? Do the Nationalists need to reinvent themselves to become a party of government once more? And how has Malta been able to sustain a solid two-party system at a time of growing fragmentation around Europe? All these questions, and more, answered in this week's podcast.

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