German elections

German election results: AfD enters parliament with record-high 12.6% as Merkel’s alliance gets 33% Live updates

The newly elected German parliament will see a significant expansion, from 631 seats in 2013 to 709 in the next legislature, according to the estimates published by the official electoral authority. Merkel’s CDU (Christian Democratic Union) will keep 200 seats, 55 fewer than it had previously. Its Bavarian ally, the CSU (Christian Social Union), lost 10 seats, taking 46.   

The centrist SPD (Social Democratic Party) has also lost ground and will take 153 seats, as opposed to 193 in the outgoing legislature. The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) is entering parliament for the first time with 94 deputies, while the FDP is making its return with 80.

A total of 69 seats went to The Left party, and 67 to Alliance 90/The Greens party.

German elections

 The Burdens of Germany’s Next Chancellor

There’s been no shortage of hand-wringing over national elections in the past year. In the last ten months alone, we’ve seen high-stakes electoral contests between populist candidates in the United States, Austria, the Netherlands, and France, as well as a tight race in Ghana, a controversial one in Kenya, and an election that followed an impeachment scandal in South Korea. And with another round of elections coming up in Austria after the coalition government collapsed, the near-term election drama is far from over.

One of the most important elections of 2017, however, has attracted comparatively little attention. On September 24, Germans will head to the polls to elect a new parliament, whose members will, in turn, form a governing coalition and select Germany’s next chancellor. Although this vote will determine who will chart the course of Europe’s largest economy and serve as the key negotiator in the looming Brexit negotiations, the German campaign season hasn’t garnered much interest.

German elections

Germany: The Next Stop in the Campaign for Europe's Future

• German general elections scheduled for Sept. 24 don't present an immediate threat to the eurozone, because moderate forces will remain in power.
• After the elections, Germany and the rest of the European Union will have to discuss issues that have been postponed, such as measures to strengthen the eurozone.
• A center-right government would be skeptical of measures to increase risk-sharing in the eurozone, while a center-left one would support measures to increase EU-wide investment.

German elections

What the terms 'right' and 'left' mean in the German election

Old habits die hard. In the eyes of newspapers including the Washington Post, the revival of the Social Democrats (SPD) in the polls in early 2017 after nominating Martin Schulz as chancellor is a sign of the "resurgent left." Conversely, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is most frequently treated as part of a global "right-wing populist" trend that also includes the Brexit and Donald Trump's election victory in the US.

According to the polls, six parties are likely to be represented in the next German parliament after the national election in September: the center-right CDU-CSU, the center-left SPD, the right-wing AfD, the Left Party, the leftist Greens and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP).  How comfortably can the left-right schema be applied to this political spectrum?

German elections

German Inflation Could Bring An Election Shock In Form Of AFD And Left

Any general carry trade unwind amidst global asset market falls would make the German elite including the Christian Democratic Union, Social Democratic Party, and the Bundesbank vulnerable to intensified popular anger in the run-up to the elections. Without such an unwind there would be the alternative hazard of climbing inflation, also anathema to so many German voters, especially in the context of zero or negative nominal interest rates. The strongest vote against the elite is a vote for the anti-euro anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), or the Left Party. No doubt the mainstream parties will all try to trim their sails to the anti-ECB mood. But who would trust any such trimming given their long contrary record to date?

In considering the outcome of an anti-elite vote in Germany’s markets will probably take seriously the scenario of the Grand Coalition (CDU/Christian Social Union/SDP) losing its overall parliamentary majority; the SDP and AfD could well be in a dead heat for second place (15–20% each of the popular vote) and the Left in a 10–15% range. Then no workable government coalition might be possible, triggering early new elections.

German elections

Infighting symptomatic of AfD in key election year?

In populous North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party bickered and fought over leadership issues at its state convention on Sunday just months ahead of a key state election regarded as a litmus test for national polls in September.

Domestic power struggles or no - the AfD, which currently has about 4,500 members in NRW, is aiming to enter the state parliament there in the May 14 vote. The party already has seats in 10 of Germany's 16 state parliaments - and also has set its sights on entering the national parliament, the Bundestag.

The AfD will in fact win enough votes to enter both assemblies, says Professor Carsten Koschmieder of the Berlin-based Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science. The AfD is also expected to win a sizable share of the vote in state polls in Saarland in March and Schleswig-Holstein in May.

German elections

Shock in Germany as Schulz set to take on Merkel in election

A political earthquake hit Germany on Tuesday with Sigmar Gabriel’s resignation as leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Mr Gabriel, party chairman since 2009, has proposed ex-European Parliament president Martin Schulz as his successor – and de facto challenger to chancellor Angela Merkel in the autumn federal election.

In a surprise announcement that shocked even senior SPD allies, Mr Gabriel described himself as more of a political liability than an asset to his party as Germany enters election season.

German elections

Germany election date set for 24 September as Angela Merkel battles for fourth term amid far-right rise

Germany has set a date for its federal election as Angela Merkel seeks a fourth term in office amid a surge by populist groups.

The country will go to the polls on 24 September after a tumultuous four years since the last vote in 2013.

Anti-immigration groups have enjoyed rocketing support, fuelled by concerns over the refugee crisis, terror attacks and mass sexual assaults, with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party expected to enter the national parliament (Bundestag) for the first time.