Politically speaking, certain areas traditionally vote for certain political parties or sides. Traditionally, the Northeast and Northwest tend to vote further

Politically speaking, certain areas traditionally vote for certain political parties or sides. Traditionally, the Northeast and Northwest tend to vote further left (SPD, Die Linke), while the Southwest and Southeast are more likely to vote further right (CDU/CSU), with the Liberal (FDP) and Green (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) parties generally stronger in the former West-Germany, and here specifically in and around the big(ger) cities. Die Süddeutsche has a neat little atlas that shows how close a given region has voted to the average, and how each individual party fared last time[1]. The general divide in Germany is that of North/South, where the South has traditionally been the powerhouse of the German economy, especially ever since steel and coal became less important. Except for VW, which are decidedly Northern, most other big German car manufacturers have their headquarters in the South, particularly in Baden-Württemberg or Bayern (Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche), with Opel sitting in Hessen. The north has traditionally been more agricultural, the West has been the traditional place of steel and coal (Ruhrgebiet), with particular cities or areas being particularly classicly left-wing oriented because of a high number of working class people. [1]: http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/wahlkreis-atlas-dem-durchschnitt-auf-der-spur-1.1740655 http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/wahlkreis-atlas-dem-durch...