ASSESSMENTS

Will the German Elections Bring Back the Old Kingmaker?

Sep 18, 2017 | 17:33 GMT

Free Democratic Party leader Christian Lindner backs a free-market economy in which the federal government doesn't get too involved.

Since the electoral fiasco of 2013, the Free Democratic Party has tried to rebrand itself and to become more attractive in an increasingly competitive landscape. Part of the strategy was to appoint 38-year-old Christian Lindner as party leader and chancellor candidate.

(JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • Because of ideological similarities, Germany's pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) could be a coalition partner for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives.
  • A government including the FDP would be skeptical of measures to share financial risk in the eurozone and to introduce additional protection for European Union companies, creating a potential source of friction with Southern Europe.
  • While the FDP has traditionally been Germany's kingmaker, opinion polls suggest its influence to shape political events after the Sept. 24 election would be modest.

If opinion polls are to be trusted, the Bundestag that emerges from the Sept. 24 general election in Germany could be the most fragmented in decades. As many as six political parties stand a chance of entering the lower chamber of the German Parliament – up from the four that are currently represented. Germany's largest parties, the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), have been governing together since 2013, but after the election they will try to form government alliances with other parties. This will give smaller political forces an important role when it comes to deciding who will be in charge of the federal government. Of all of Germany's potential kingmakers, there is one that has the most experience with the role: the centrist Free Democratic Party (FDP)....

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