Claire Thomson
The 2021 German Federal Election, held on 26th September, made history following the Social Democrat Party’s unprecedented but narrow win. Angela Merkel, who has been the Chancellor of Germany for 13 years, chose not to seek re-election, marking a new era for German politics.
Questionably held on the same day as the Berlin Marathon, approximately 60.4 million Germans over the age of 18 years old were eligible to vote in the 2021 German Federal Election, either in person or through postal vote. The Federal Election started off as a history making ballot following Germany’s current Chancellor, Angela Merkel’s, decision not to seek re-election. This was the first time that this has occurred in postwar history.
The Bundestag is made up of a minimum of 598 seats. Whilst the winning party is known immediately after the counting of votes, the people who will form the next government are only revealed when the winner is able to configure an absolute majority in parliament with one or two other parties, a process which takes a bit longer. Therefore, the next Chancellor will not be known immediately.
German citizens each cast two votes: one for a local MP and one for a political party. 50% of the Bundestag are directly elected from the 299 districts in Germany, whilst the other 50% are elected based on party vote share. A coalition is then formed in parliament and the MPs elect the new Chancellor.
Claiming Victory
Germany’s centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) narrowly claimed victory in the Federal Election over their conservative rivals.
“Olaf Schultz, won 25.7% of the vote in comparison to the CDU, led by Armin Laschet, who won 24.1%– a historic low for the party.”
Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), alongside its sister party in Bavaria, the Christian Social Union, have been dominant in German politics for years. SPD and their Chancellor candidate, Olaf Schultz, won 25.7% of the vote in comparison to the CDU, led by Armin Laschet, who won 24.1%– a historic low for the party.
Armin Laschet struggled to win over voters after he was pictured laughing during a visit to a flood-hit town in July. The Greens and its candidate Annalena Baerbock, finished the race in third, securing their best result in a Federal Election to date at 14.8%.
Generational Trends
The traditional parties continued to reign at this election. However, generational trends are suggesting that this might not continue for much longer. Voters under the age of 30 were more drawn to the Greens on the left, and the liberal FDP on the right by a large margin; according to an exit poll by Forschungsgruppe Wahlen.
In comparison, the over-60s largely preferred the centre-left and centre-right parties, with only 9% voting for the Greens and 8% voting for the FDP.
“Bundestag welcomed its first transgender MPs, Tessa Ganserer and Nyke Slawik”
History was also made as the Bundestag welcomed its first transgender MPs, Tessa Ganserer and Nyke Slawik. Both newly elected MPs won seats for the Greens. Additionally, Green party politician Awet Tesfaiesus became the first African-born Black female MP in the German parliament. Migrating to Germany with her family at 6 years old, she grew up in Heidelberg before studying at Frankfurt University.
However, despite all this history-making, a survey by infratest dimap for the ARD revealed that not all Germans were happy with the outcome of the Federal Election. More than a third at 37% were satisfied or very satisfied with the results. Whilst a majority at 58%, were less satisfied or not satisfied at all. Whether the general public will be won over by the new administration is yet to be seen.
What’s Next?
So what’s next for German politics?
The parties will now form a coalition government, with a three-way coalition between SPD, Greens and the liberal FDP looking most likely.
Whilst foreign in the UK, coalition-forming is common for several democracies across Europe. This method allows parliamentary seats to be allocated based on the number of votes cast for the party. In the UK, the first-past-the-post system is used for national elections. Under this system, the candidate that wins the most votes gets the seat even if they aren;t picked by a majority.
It’ll potentially take several months for the new Chancellor to be elected and its worth noting that the Chancellor doesn’t always come from the party in the lead.
In the meantime, Merkel will remain in place whilst the coalition discussion proceeds.
Featured image courtesy of Dr. Horst-Dieter Donat from Pixabay. No changes or alterations were made to this image. Image license found here
Claire Thomson
Aspiring Sports Journalist and Modern Languages Student (French/German) at University of Glasgow