German rivals neck and neck to succeed Merkel

[libertybele]

German rivals neck and neck to succeed Merkel

It's just after 23:00 local time, and the centre-left Social Democrats look to be on course for a razor-thin victory in Germany's parliamentary elections - but they will need to form a coalition to build the next government.

The party's candidate Olaf Scholz has said the country voted for change - and says voters want him to replace Angela Merkel as chancellor after 16 years.

Even so, Armin Laschet, the candidate for Mrs Merkel's conservatives, has declared the outcome "unclear" and said he too wants to become Germany's new chancellor. But he acknowledged his party has plunged to a historic low.

The progressive Greens appear to have made big gains, but not to have a viable shot at the chancellery. Along with the free-market Free Democrats, they look likely to play a key role in coalition talks.

But with many more people voting by post than usual, it could be a while before we know the full outcome of the poll...............

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-58644812

[sneakypete]

I am far from current on German politics,but aren't all the parties in the running pretty much socialists who are carbon copies of each other?

[Kamaji]

Germany is moving to the left now.

[sneakypete]

Germany is moving to the left now.

@Kamaji

How could they possibly move any further left than Merkel?

[Kamaji]

@Kamaji

How could they possibly move any further left than Merkel?

Quite easily.  Germany, like most of the Europeans, is structurally further to the left than the U.S. as a general matter; however, within the milieu of European politics, Merkle's party is considered more centrist that leftist.  The Social Democrats, who seem to have the edge, are considered center-left within that milieu.

[sneakypete]

Quite easily.  Germany, like most of the Europeans, is structurally further to the left than the U.S. as a general matter; however, within the milieu of European politics, Merkle's party is considered more centrist that leftist.  The Social Democrats, who seem to have the edge, are considered center-left within that milieu.

@Kamaji

That makes me glad I don't live in Europe. I don't think I would be a good "fit".

[libertybele]

Close of Merkel Era Sees Her Party Heading For its Worst Election Showing Ever

The Merkel era in Germany looks set to end with her Christian Democratic Union-Christian Social Union (CDU-CSU) bloc achieving its worst-ever result, according to projected results released by the ZDF broadcaster late Sunday night.

The center-right bloc that been part of the government through much of the West Germany era and since reunification in 1990 is on track to win around 24 percent of the votes, behind the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), approaching 26 percent.

Meanwhile the Greens with 14.6 percent have leapfrogged the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) at 11.5 percent, the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) at 10.4 percent, and the left-wing Linke – which at 4.9 percent is hovering on the threshold and may not enter the Bundestag at all.

The Greens have seen the biggest jump since 2017, when the party received 8.9 percent of the votes. The SPD is also more than five percent up on its 2017 showing, while the AfD and Linke are down by 2.2 and 4.3 percent respectively.

But the CDU-CSU accounts for the sharpest drop, down almost nine points since 2017. The CDU-CSU alliance won 33 percent of the vote in the last federal election. Its worst result ever – until now – was 31 percent in 1949, Germany’s first post-war election.

Chancellor Angela Merkel is standing down after 16 years in power. The candidates to succeed her from the SPD and CDU-CSU, Olaf Scholz and Armin Laschet, have both indicated their readiness to begin coalition negotiations...........

https://cnsnews.com/article/international/patrick-goodenough/close-merkel-era-sees-her-party-heading-its-worst-election