Politics behind elections in Germany

After 16 years in power, Angela Merkel is set to retire as chancellor following a general election on September 26th, leaving a gaping hole in German politics. Merkel, who is 67 years old announced earlier that her current and fourth term in office would be “the last” in October 2018. This announcement came straight after when her CDU had just suffered an electoral setback in the state of Hesse.

This is going to be the first time in history since 1949 that an incumbent chancellor has not run for re-election. Merkel was appointed as the chancellor for the first time on November 22nd, 2005, and has been in power for over 16 years now. She is regarded in the same context as Helmut Kohl, who was Germany’s longest-serving leader. 

Looking at the needs of the German economy, the future of German industry has been an important issue during the election campaign. The country’s flagship car industry is facing an existential crisis precipitated by the decline of the combustion engine and its consequences for the 800,000 workers employed in the sector.

Making a fresh start, it is predicted that the arrival of a new chancellor, it will open several gates for implementing changes in the bloc. Now especially with the Franco-German relationship, they will be keenly focused since France too goes to the polls in April 2022.

Once a new government is in place, Germany will be expected to bring some fresh momentum to the European Union. It should be noted that back in 1953, as France was about to embark on the postwar “golden age,”. It is seen as the point of reference for contemporary French nostalgia where all politicians proclaimed that the time of decline had come. 

History repeating itself, now it can be seen through a statement by Jérôme Fourquet, in charge of public opinion at Ifop, a premier French polling and market research firm, who compared the situation in France today to the defeat of its army in 1940: One thought France was strong, only to be swept away by Germany.