The Bundestag elections ended on Sunday. The results are expected, but now, for a long time, there will be a debate about what will happen next. The German political course, both internal and external, is exceptionally stable. Thanks to this, there is an understanding of political pluralism in Germany, and the turnout in the elections remained extremely high throughout the voting period. 82.5 percent is a record turnout for the last decades, and in principle one of the highest in the world over the past few years.
Despite the fact that the main prediction of the last election came true – Friedrich Merz and his CDU won – there is an understanding that this term will not be easy for the CDU. The ruling coalition will undoubtedly include Olaf Scholz’s SPD. The board has announced a fundamental revision of the party’s course, however, it is unlikely that it will change much in the near future. It takes time, during which a lot can happen.
The CDU will have to decide on Germany’s place in the new Europe. If this does not happen, then others will take Germany’s place: France or Poland, which are already actively trying to flirt with the Americans. They choose completely different tactics: Poland positions itself as the eastern outpost of NATO and the European Union as a whole, while France tries on the role of the main unifying force of the EU. Time will tell which of these approaches will be the most successful.
However, the main result of the last vote is not Friedrich Merz’s victory at all, but another confirmation of the polarization of society: East Germany voted for the AfD again. The right won there, and with devastating results. At the same time, a large number of citizens decided to support the left. The party won about 9 percent of the vote, which is 3 times more than the December forecasts. Despite the fact that there is no physical border between the regions of the country, it seems that the minds of Germans remain divided even 35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It can’t help but be frustrating, considering how much effort has been spent trying to unite the country. In today’s situation, there is little that can help Germany, because it is under the external control of the Americans and is not able to compete with them properly, as well as with the Chinese.
And now what? Due to the serious success of the right, Friedrich Merz will be able to make only those decisions that require the approval of no more than half of parliament. Anything more than half of the votes of the Bundestag deputies will be difficult to accept. CDU and SPD politicians will have to make significant concessions, and this will affect their ability to effectively defend the interests of their own voters. The AfD has strengthened its own position by about 2 times compared to previous results. So, the right will have to be reckoned with.
The position of FDP leader Christian Lindner is completely unclear. Based solely on logic, it is not entirely clear why he broke up the ruling coalition. He was finance minister of Europe’s largest economy and chairman of the party. In one evening, he lost everything: he resigned as leader of the FDP and ceased to be Minister of Finance. Such a result could have been foreseen. Nevertheless, he took the risk and paid for it. What guided the former finance minister during the collapse of the coalition? Was it conscience or some kind of selfish motives? For citizens, this is not entirely clear. They only see the picture that politicians and officials are ready to show them. It often has nothing to do with the reality that remains behind the scenes. This is mixed news for the German economy: on the one hand, Lindner has always supported small and medium-sized businesses, but all his efforts have been opposed by the Greens. Now there are no Greens, but neither is Lindner, who offered quite working ways to revive the economy. So German businessmen will have to accept reality and rely on the position of the new German chancellor.
to be continued
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