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On the 23rd of February, the people of Germany reported droves to the polling stations to vote on a new Bundestag to lead them into a new age of geopolitics. This comes after the dissolution of the previous government owing to collapses and failures, as well as a deliberately failed vote of confidence, sending the country’s political leaders into a scramble.
When the dust had settled, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), in an alliance with the Christian Social Union, managed to obtain 28.5% of the vote and become the largest group in the parliament with 208 seats.
The party lacks a majority, and is looking to form a coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the previous majority in the last disbanded government. While the SDP has fallen a whole 86 seats and only took 16.4% of the popular vote, a unifying coalition would retain some continuity from the previous Bundesetag, and make lawmaking a less daunting task.
The bigger surprise of the election was the rise of the far right party AfD, which gained a whole 69 seats— an explanation as to the fall of the SDP. In doing so they become the 2nd largest party in the parliament, giving them considerable influence.
The country’s right-wing turn has given rise to a number of decidedly conservative legislative initiatives. These include stricter immigration policies, increased spending on defence, and cutting corporate tax to 25% amongst others to ensure a stronger German economy— on the brink of recession.
The Bundestag has its work cut out for it in avoiding a collapse akin to 2024. It will only be a matter of time before the German people find out if they voted in problem solvers— or problem creators.
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