German Christian Democrats back on the track?

Abstract: This article interprets the outcome of the 2023 Hessian and Bavarian local elections in the context of German Christian democracy. The paper focuses on two critical questions based on the reports of media commentary. First, it examines whether the success can be interpreted as a breakthrough for the Union parties (CDU/CSU). Second, it aims to formulate an argument about whether the flow of events brought an ideological shift towards traditional Christian democratic values.