Several days ago, Germany’s federal election took place and voters gave Chancellor Angela Merkel another term in office. The major change from the election result was that the period of Germany’s “grand coalition” between Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), and the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Social Democrats (SPD) is finished. Instead, Germany will now be governed by a coalition of Merkel’s CDU/CSU and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), which last governed Germany together in 1998.
The German election result may pose a major re-alignment in German politics, as the major parties become more polarized in opposition to each other and there is a clearer ideological split between minor parties. Also, much of the new government’s work will be focused on improving the national economy, which barely climbed out of recession at the end of the second quarter.
To discuss these issues, this week’s brief will explain the German federal election. To do so, we will examine the run-up to the election, how the election turned out, and what the new governing coalition of the CDU/CSU and the FDP will be able to accomplish in their new term.