Berlin – German elections are usually proud of reliably boring. Not so this time.
The third largest world economy goes to surveys on Sunday under the shadow of unusually abrasive interventions from the Trump Administration in favor of anti-immigration end-right. Meanwhile, the fields of high attacks on German streets, the latest goes on Friday at the Holocaust Memorial, led to the accused campaigns on immigration.
Favorit to become a Chancellor is Friedrich Merz, 69, equal leader from the middle of Christian Democratic Union or CDU. He questioned the German future relationship with the United States.
“I hope that (USA) remains democracy and does not slip into an authoritarian populist system,” Merz told the campaign in Darmstadt on Thursday. “But maybe America will enter the longer period of instability and that this populism, this autocrat behavior of the heads of states will continue for a long period of time.”
At home, Merz wants to reduce the regulatory red ribbon and corporate taxes with the tightening of German borders in what critics say that attempting to go on its rivals on heavy rights. He is opposite Alcument Olaf Scholz, 66, whose social democratic union in the center, or spd, struggled to be worn with double economic crises of pandemic in Ukraine.
But there is no doubtful story alternative to Germany, whose dialing should 21% doubled his support from the last election in 2021, and probably put it in another place. Led by Alice Weidel, 36, extremely right, cautious, anti-immigration and antimuslim parties is under surveillance for suspicion of extremism by the country’s domestic intelligence service.
German proportional, the multi-party system is designed so that one party is very difficult to win, which means they have to work together and manage the coalition. CDU leads surveys to 28%, and the SPD rows from 16%. Robert Habeck, 55, head of greenery, currently with 13%.
Other parties, such as socialist die line, free democrats for pro-business and left Populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance It will hope to achieve a threshold of 5% required to enter the Bundestag.
The polling stations known as “Wahllokale” will open at 8 am in the morning at 6 p.m. on Sunday Sunday. Shortly afterwards, the output survey will fall which historically gave the exact idea of the final results. During the arrival hours, overnight on Monday morning, the results themselves will be dragged.
Most eyes will be on AFD. Its increase is part of the European trend of alarming liberals and centers, whereby the border of nationalist parties are made up of steps on the continent to the detriment of the political object.
“We think that it is inconceivable that fascism could return to Europe, but there is – here,” Marina Weisband, prominent activist, author and psychologist. “The established parties have no answers,” Weisband, the founding director of the Aula, the project for strengthening democracy education in German schools. “What the parties in Germany mostly work just hold in the system. But the system I no longer works so good.”
As with several of these nationalist European movements, the White House has established links to AFD, supported by Trump Advisor Elon Musk and Vice President JD Vance.
Andreas Busch, professor of political science at the University of Göttingen, believes that they are as striking such as these interventions, did not reinforce domestic Polls of AFD.
“He didn’t move the needle once,” he said. “They’re slowly, but they must have pulled out in Miss Surveys,” he added. “And that has been going on for a long time before Musk said anything.”
AFD rejects labels such as extremely right and fascist.
“Afd is not a racist or anti-tinting,” Joachim Steyer said, 58, the plumber turned the local representative in the southern German city of Burladingen. “But it’s simply the fact that now we have so many problems we didn’t have before migration.”
Almost 40% of his region voted for AFD in the European elections last year despite the area that has a low level of immigration. He said that the vote was motivated because of what people believe in the cities.
“If you look at the pictures in Hamburg, Bremen, Valley Ruhr, where they are setting all towns, where you can barely see German, and there are mosques in the morning at the morning, I feel more in Turkey,” he said. “And that’s what people refuse. We don’t want anything other than German, to preserve our culture.”
The White House and the AFD leader who keeps did not respond to the request for comment on their relationship or policy and rhetoric parties.
The increase in AFD is especially striking in Germany, the country as careful to its Nazi past that there are laws and informal political pects intended to stop the fascism return. One of them is the “firewall” – the agreement of the parties that they do not work with the ultimate right sides such as AFD. That is why the party is unlikely that the party will enter any coalition after the voice, even if it is strongly surveyed.
“No one expects AFD to form the government of this election,” Busch said. “So it’s hard to assess how serious needs to be taken.”
These attempts to enter into AFD has become a soapy problem for AFD dealers, whose ugly cries that their freedom of speech is limited by musk and others.
Potential coalition capabilities include CDU-Green Alliance. Or even the so-called “large coalition” – either Groko – between CDU and SPD, two historically the largest parties to the right and left of the center. Some see the danger in this as would help the AFD as an official opposition.
These coalition conversations can last for months, and go wrong the wrong beds can be expensive. Scholzova “The Semaphore Coalition” with greenery and free democrats was in charge, finally, finally installed the argument of the budget deficit in November, placing the stage for Sunday survey.
The idea of two rival associations could seem unusual American ears, but the Groko was employed several times in the holidays of the Impelijska Merkel during its 16 years in power, and entering the type of consensus building that drives German politics.
AFD would claim that this main course, the founding company that Grouphink received Germany and the West in the multiple crisis today.
The country is undoubtedly on low EBB. Once the Industry Electronian Europe, its economy is sitting on the edge of the recession. He no longer enjoys cheap natural gas in Europe pumping Russian President Vladimir Putin, from the western force, consent to stop drawing from Parijansian good. And her former export market became an economic competitor, causing German legacy industry with cheaper, large quality electric vehicles.
Then the issue of the United States, which has undergone the military security of Germany by decades of German troops in German ground as a warning first in the Soviet Union and now Russia. This warranty views in its current form, and President Donald Trump examined the post-war security pact with NATO countries openly.
Although the military force of the back seat from World War II, Germany has increased its military budget after years after the minimum NATO guidelines have met. However, many experts say that as the third largest world economy, it is still working too small, and raising the defense budget will further burden on its sick economy.
As Germany prepares for the celebration for 70 years in the Military Federation in May, Merz asked the future of Washington as her key.
“Will Americans still be there?” He said at the Darmstadt event. “Eight weeks ago I wouldn’t dare ask this question, but we have to give the answer to that today.”
2025-02-22 14:07:00
