ASSESSMENTS

The German Elections Matter — and Not Just for Germany

Sep 13, 2017 | 11:29 GMT

For the past four years, Germany has been governed by a ruling coalition made up of the country's two largest parties: the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the progressive Social Democratic Party (SPD), led by former EU Parliament president Martin Schulz

The Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party have worked together for the past four years, but neither wants to be in the same ruling coalition again. 

(JOCHEN ZICK-POOL/SEAN GALLUP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • Germany's Sept. 24 election will likely result in one of the most fragmented parliaments the country has seen in decades.
  • The country's two largest parties will try to avoid renewing their current coalition partnership, meaning smaller parties will play a big role in the formation of the next government.
  • The ideological composition of the new administration will affect negotiations to reform the European Union, and when it comes to Southern Europe's proposals for reform, a center-right coalition would be more skeptical than a center-left coalition.

Germany is heading into the final weeks of a fairly uneventful campaign season. There is little chance of a major nationalist or euroskeptic victory and opinion polls have remained steady. But that doesn't mean that there aren't going to be major domestic and international repercussions come Sept. 24. The big question -- not just for those in Germany, but also for other members of the European Union -- is what the final distribution of seats in the Bundestag will look like. The answer will determine not only the possible combination of parties that will form a government coalition, but also what direction Europe will take on much-needed reforms to the European Union....

Subscribe to view this article

Subscribe Now

Subscribe

Already have an account?