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Ms. Esken the new leader of the Social Democrats (SPD) party in Germany says SPD will withdraw from the coalition government of chancellor Merkel as its demands for more spending on education and transport were not met. Ms. Esken says the coalition "is crap for democracy." Both the partners in this coalition the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, parties that ruled in the post war years, have seen their support drop to the low twenties and thirties percent in recent elections with votes shifting to the Greens and the far right the AfD, and other parties. The disenchantment among voters with Merkel's immigration policies grows and the SPD is seen as failing to stand up for workers rights against decade long austerity policies of Merkel. Labour party in Britain faced a similar situation as it lost its focus on workers and ordinary people and is only now shifting its stand under Corbyn to workers rights and spending for education, infrastructure and health. ...

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This report in DW.com says contrary to the stereotypes about rightwing AfD voters being less educated, low income, new studies show the AfD voters come from all levels of society. There is only one thing in common and that is they all think having so many refugees is bad for Germany. They don't want refugees to migrate to Germany. Recently the AfD has made gains in German elections with chancellor Merkel's policy leading to a large number of refugees entering Germany. Germany has seen a realignment in many ways. The Social Democrats have lost support as voters shifted to the Greens party which now has about 20% support among German voters, and the Free Democrats have come back to about 10% under Mr. Lindner. The AfD swing as the mood shifts away from Merkel's policies, is one of many trends in Germany. The Christian Democrats also have a new leader as the traditional parties go back to their roots following a period when Merkel's policies erased many of the differences between the traditional SPD and CDU during the period of coalition governments dominated by Merkel's Christian Democrats. The SPD suffered serious election losses as Merkel pursued centrist positions. ...

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Scholz called Lindner, the head of the  Free Democrats, who as Finance minister in the coalition with Greens and SPD, was instrumental in blocking much needed infrastructure and other investment in the German economy.  Scholz said of Lindner that his attitude was "disrespectful," "egoistic" and "small-minded." Lindner wrote a paper calling for cuts in investment, welfare cuts and reducing climate change action preparing to leave the coalition to join the opposition Christian Democrats. Yet Lindner's FDP has less than 4% popular support and the timing is poor for his actions. For once the SPD and the Greens decided to stand upto this kind of behaviour and Scholz fired Lindner.

Scholz called for a confidence vote in mid-January as both sides plan on taking it to the voters in an new election.

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After over a decade under the Christian Democrats and Merkel and the influence of older voters in elections, NYT says younger voters and candidates are coming into prominence in the 2021 elections. The SPD under Olaf Scolz is fielding 80 candidates under age 35 for parliamentary elections to form a new government. Digitization, child care, poverty and social mobility, and the need for a rising tide that lifts all boats are issues in this election.

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The German parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of sending heavy weapons to Ukraine as the Russian invasion continues in eastern and southern Ukraine. The German parliament voted on Thursday, April 28, marking a major shift in policy for Germany with 586 in favor and 100 opposed, and 7 abstaining. Military aid should continue and accelerate wherever possible says the proposal that was passed with the backing of the ruling coalition of Greens, SDP and FDP, and backed by the largest opposition party the Christian Democrats (CDU). The far right AfD opposed the proposal. The proposal also foresees an appeal to China for it to "abandon its acceptance of war" and actively support a truce, says this report in DW.com.

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Huawei gets support from Telefonica SA, one of 3 mobile operators in Germany, for use of its 5G equipment along with equipment from Nokia Corporation. This still depends on certification from reluctant lawmakers that Huawei equipment can be used. Huawei is seen as a threat for espionage in Germany by lawmakers. Lawmakers in the ruling coalition now say they will amend the telecom laws in ways that would exclude Chinese vendor Huawei. The Christian Democrats have already adopted a motion to exclude 5G network providers that can be influenced by their governments. 

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Voter turnout of 83.5% in federal elections in Germany in Feb 2025 is the highest since reunification in 1990.  The Free Democrats and the Wagenknecht BSW  fail to meet the threshold of 5% for representation in parliament. The CDU manage 28.5% of the vote less than the forecast 30%, and the AfD is at 20.7%. Scholz Social Democrats drop 9% points from 25% in 2021 to 16.5% and the Greens are at 11.7% of the vote. The Left Parties get 8.7%. German broadcaster ARD cites exit polls showing 82% of voters were dissatisfied with the government coalition, 72% of voters dissatisfied with chancellor Scholz, yet the Greens  voters gave it 45% approval.  In terms of seats in the 630 seat Bundestag  Christian Democrats  208 seats Social Democrats.      121  The Greens                  85  Left Party                       64 AfD                               151        The likely outcome is resignation of chancellor Scholz and new leader for Social Democrats. A CDU SPD coalition Merz as chancellor, with Greens/ Left parties and AfD in the Opposition with equal number of seats.                                                                                                        ...

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Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party suffered a major defeat in North Rhine-Westphalia. Exit polls show the SPD Social Democrats party winning 38.9% of the vote, increasing its vote by 4.4%. The CDU won only 26.3% of the vote, dropping 8.3% from the last election. The SPD state premier, Hannelore Kraft, proved to be a popular campaigner. Her opponent Mr Rottgen made debt-financed spending an issue and told voters this was a referendum on Merkel's policies for Europe. Ms. Kraft said after the win: "We made people the central focus again." This has overtones of the victory of Francois Hollande in France, a few days ago, and shows a fundamental shift in Europe. German media described it as debacle for the conservatives considering the size of the margin between SPD and CDU. The Greens secured 11.6% of the votes and this will enable Ms. Kraft to govern easily compared to an earlier minority government she led. This state is the largest in Germany, with one of every five Germans living here, with the capital in Dusseldorf. The Pirates party secured 7.8% of the vote, and the Free Democrats staging a recovery with 8.3% of the vote under a popular young leader Christian Lindner. Upto this point the SPD lacked an effective leader to challenge Merkel. The sense now is that Ms. Kraft will emerge as the SPD's challenger to Merkel in elections in 2013, or earlier. French president Hollande goes to Berlin on May 16, 2012, and the SPD win is expected to strengthen his position in negotiations....

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The centre right parties led by Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats lose their commanding position in the European parliament, with new EU elections in May 2019. The EU parliament's 705 seats are to be filled, and the party getting the most seats gets to name the president of the European Commission. The European People's Party which includes Merkel's CDU party has dominated the parliament for two decades, and secured the top posts for European Council and European Commission. Manfred Weber is the new lead candidate of the EPP. The EPP may have to join the Centre left Social Democrats or the pro market Liberals to form a new coalition.

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It would be astounding to know that the average age of the CDU Christian Democratic party members and voters is about 60 years. With the aging of society a large portion of German population is older and mostly conservative, seeking to stay with the status quo. This is the support that chancellor Merkel had and her policies reflected this conservatism. Younger voters felt they were being ignored and have chosen to vote for the Greens or the Free Democrats. Even with the Greens the average age of members is about 48 years, for the FDP 51 years. Compared to this South Asian population is much younger.

 

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The recent appointment of fast food executive Andrew Puzder as Labor Secretary has caused great concern among union leaders. Puzder supports a $9 minimum wage compared to $15 supported by Democrats. Unions now represent 7% of the labor force, down from a high of 20% during Reagan's time when Reagan appointed a construction company executive as Labor Secretary and cut regulations.  Globalization has thinned the ranks of workers in unions. And the failure of Democratic administrations to stem the shift of factories overseas to China, Mexico and other places, as part of global supply chains focussed on cost, has weakened Democratic support among workers since the period of Bill Clinton. It eroded to the point where Obama won 65% of support among unions and Hillary Clinton won 56% in 2016. Interestingly the Republican Romney gained 33% versus 37% for Trump, showing voters were more inclined to move away from Democrats and only a smaller number willing to support Republicans, but the shift enough to give Republicans a win in 2016 for the presidency. The figures are from a Election Day survey of trade union AFL-CIO, and a larger proportion in midwestern states showed disaffection with policies from Clinton to Obama. In fact Obama spent years promoting another free trade agreement TPP that favored tech more than auto and older industries, just as Bill Clinton had promoted NAFTA, without giving thought to what this was doing to its worker base of support. A similar situation happened with Social Democrats in Germany as a SPD administration moved to the centre and handed Christian Democrats led by Merkel a win in parliamentary elections. As Democrats such as former Labor Secretary Reich, a professor at UC Berkeley who served under Bill Clinton, describe the problems of working class people their is less reflection on the impact of the changes from globalization and how Democrats handled or mishandled it, and more on the politics between the two parties.   ...

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  A new German party called BSW,  Bundnis (Association) Sarah Wagenknecht, means Germany nationally could see a smaller Social Democrats party in parliament making way for the socialists who want to keep out migrants. Across East Germany a new party is challenging the AfD from the socialist side getting the protest vote against pro-migrant policies.The socialist BSW party is taking votes from the SPD and DIe Linke Left, from Free Democrats and Greens in the state parliamentary elections in East German states of Thuringia, Saxony, Brandenburg. Nationally SPD may be 15-20%, BSW 10%, and CDU 30%, AfD 10-15%, FDP 10%, Greens 10% in a new shape for German parliamentary representation. The AfD and far right in Germany is challenged by the BSW with both parties opposing policies that led to large scale migrant flows into Germany of Angela Merkel.  BSW is the socialist party of Sarah Wagenknecht which is opposed to migrants entering the country as it distracts from tackling the problems of the working class in Germany and burdens public services when needs are greater among the local communities.  It sees the ruling Christian Democrats, Social Democrat and Free Demcorats, Greens, as out of touch with the problems of working class Germans struggling to make a living. BSW also opposes the wars in Ukraine and Gaza for the same reasons as it takes away resources that are better used to tackle problems at home. The AfD party also opposes migrants but is seen as feeding on the grievances of people of old east German communist state who feel left behind by the reunification of Germany. As a socialist party BSW is for addressing problems of inequality and poverty, childcare, cost of living action, housing, and many of the problems of the working class. Mette Frederiksen Danish prime minister has combined socialist ideas with anti-migrant position in Denmark. A similar position is being taken in the US by the Biden Harris administration in the US by closing the Border with Mexico.  Who is Sahra Wagenknecht and the BSW? Bundnis Sarah Wagenknecht or Association of Sarah Wagenknecht is a socialist party that grew out of Sarah Wagenknecht's own experience growing up in the socialist state of the German Democratic Republic during her formative years in East Berlin.  Born to a Iranian father who disappeared in Iran, and a German mother she was raised by her grandparents. She was active in the socialist parties Die Linke group in parliament since 2000. She received her bachelors degree in philosophy and New German Literature at East Berlin Humboldt University. Followed by MA at Groningen University in philosophy of Marx-Hegel and a doctoral degree from TU Chemnitz in Economics. She was member of parliament in the Bundestag and leader of the Die Linke group. The twin 2009 financial crisis by banks pursuing excessive leverage profits and unethical dealings, the euro crisis that followed of state actors misrepresenting their finances, the rent seeking attitudes of finance, pharma, tech monopolies and other industries has led her along with Italian economist Mazzucato to question the existing system. ...

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This analysis in the NYT looks at the successor administration to chancellor Merkel in Germany as elections approach. It shows that that the three main parties Christian Democrats, the Greens, and the Social Democrats have come so close to the mainstream ideas of modernizing the state, acting on climate change, managing migration, and strengthening the European Union, that they now look similar in their views and have toned down their speeches. This is seen as Armin Laschet for CDU, Ms Baerbock for the Greens, and Scholz for the SPD, conduct a dull campaign that is much on autopilot. Polls show CDU leading the Greens by a nine point margin, yet there is not much enthusiasm for Armin Laschet, CDU's candidate, or for Ms Baerbock. The SPD has lagged behind. The likely outcome in this situation is a coalition of the Greens with either the CDU or the SPD, more likely with CDU, for a future administration to succeed Merkel.    ...

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Germany's investment in defense and infrastructure will see major increases under Merz/Kingsbiel CDU/SPD coalition government, borrowing in 2029 are 4 time levels in 2024 to finance a massive wave of investment. These investments were held off under Merkels government of the CDU from 2005 to 2021 and under the four year term of SPD's Scholz. A lot of damage is done by such disinvestment in the German economy from childcare and housing to transportation and internet infrastructure, to defense. It was part of the program of the Greens and Social Democrats under Scholz's government 2021-2024 but was stalled by finance minister Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats who was not fired until 2024 and who lost his seat and the FDP's presence in parliament in the 2025 elections for his role. Lindner's support of the constitutional debt brake set up by Merkel is seen as depriving Germany of the modernization of its infrastructure and the economy.  Germany's defense budget is set to more than double by 2029, increasing to €152.8 billion ($177 billion). Net borrowing will  significantly increase in the draft budget.  €81.8 billion in 2025, up from €33.3 billion in 2024. €89.3 billion in 2026, €87.5 billion in 2027, €115.7 billion in 2028 and €126.1 billion in 2029 or 4 times the level of 2024. The principal achievement in 2025 by Merz was to remove the constitutional debt brake of Merkel/Lindner and make modernization of infrastructure and defense a top priority of the Merz/Kingbeil CDU/SPD government. ...

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A disservice by DW.com to conservative Julia Klockner  when Europe and the US are moving in a conservative direction, and people have lost patience with illegal migration and lack of integration in society. Julia Klockner is Bundestag president and is close to chancellor Merz. She is a senior politician of the CDU, from Rhineland Palatinate. Her father is a wine grower in that region. She started out as a journalist and from 2010 -2022 led the CDU in her home state. She has taken a position on the destabilization of German politics by the AfD party after Merkel's failures in illegal immigration that has stretched public resources. Similar to the premier of Denmark Mette Fredericksen, a Social Democrat, Klockner as a Christian Democrat understands that illegal migration is bad for social cohesion in Germany. Klocker and Merz both understand that the public's patience has been tested to the limits by millions of illegal migrants as in the US. Her view early on in Merkel's cabinet was that legal immigrants have to be integrated into German society. She sees no need for AfD, when the CDU/CSU conservatives in Germany and in Bavaria can prevent illegal migrants from entering the country. She says-"You don't have to vote AfD for what you want. There is a democratic alternative: The CDU."  ...

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A grass roots movement that is taking shape in the Social Democrats SPD party since 2018 that is likely to reshape the party around critical issues. A surge in memberships in the party is bringing more young people into the party. Many are joining to bring momentum like that of Jeremy Corbyn into the SPD. Jeremy Corbyn revived Labour by winning 40% of the vote in the 2017 election. He also won the leadership of the Labour party with the help of young people who became Labour party supporters by paying a small fee of $4.15. In 2015 these young activists took part in the leadership contest electing Corbyn. For the SPD the election results under a series of leaders are one long road downhill to support today at about 14%, a shocking figure for the party of Willy Brandt, a figure in the SPD from 1964 to 1987 of the stature of Konrad Adenauer who helped build a new post war Germany. There is no where to go but uphill and little to lose in shifting away from the coalition with the Christian Democrats which has hurt the SPD and the working class. Even a $14 minimum wage was rejected by the CDU in 2019 as the coalition begins to collapse and activists elect a new leader who like Corbyn for Labour in Britain can revive the SPD around critical issues and clear policy for ordinary working class Germans. ...

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A fact check on Alice Weidel Musk interview on X. The current polls show the leading candidate for chancellor is Habeck of the Greens at 28%. Habeck is known for the work he did to get Germany through a difficult period of cutoff of energy supplies from Russia. He was Deputy Chancellor and Economy Minister in the Scholz government. Scholz is at 20% so is Weidel of AfD. Others are Merz of the Christian Democrats at 25%. Sarah Wagenknecht leads a Socialist party BSW that opposes migrants given asylum similar to the Socialist party in Denmark under PM Mette Frederiksen with 21%. The AfD has 20% support, Christian Democrats have 30%. Social Democrats 20% and Greens about 20%. 7 million immigrants entered Germany since the Merkel years in 2015. The situation in 2015 when Merkel allowed migrants to enter Germany from Austria and Hungary is remembered as a controversial decision. Merkel reversed this decision during the last years of her government. Of the 7 million only 3 million are asylum seekers applications of which some were rejected. The rest were legally allowed into the country. This included Ukrainian refugees from the war with Russia.   ...

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The rally of about 1 million people in Berlin shows Germans are awakening to the need for vigilance in a democracy. Berliners and Germans were showing their awareness of Thomas Jefferson's words that eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. In the fragmented world of German politics where the main parties Social Democrats and Christian Democrats, the parties of Wily Brandt and Konrad Adenauer that built modern Germany command less than 20% support each, the need was never greater for a bulwark of freedom and free people in the center of Europe.

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NYT says DJT ratings have been resilient and stable around 43% in September similar to April 2025. Shows slight improvement on the economy and slight drop on immigration. DJT gets higher approval in fighting crime 48% supporting, 51% saying government was deporting mostly those needing to be deported, and 54% favoring deporting of illegal migrants. On the major issues of the economy, illegal immigration, the support is fairly resilient and stable says the NYT. Even the groups that say the biggest problem is the other side Democrats saying that of Republicans and vice versa, is only about 15%, or what has been seen in polarized periods in American history such as with Jefferson and Adams, Andrew Jackson after British wars,  Abraham Lincoln and Southerners before Civil War, Hoover and FDR as Depression progressed, and Harry Truman and Wendell Wilkie/Eisenhower periods of this history. The current polarization is not something new even though it is seen as unsettling to an onlooker. On immigration Eisenhower led Operation Wetback in the 1950's similar to today's effort to reverse illegal migration. Efforts to bring Common Prayer or Christian prayer to schools is part of America's history and Prayer existed in American schools throughout most of America's history, so that this is also nothing new. ...

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Differences between the Christian Democrats and the CSU over immigration and Merkel's open door policy are only one of the issues for a new Merkel government. There are differences between the CDU and the Free Democrats. Add to this the difference between the Greens and the Free Democrats on environment and business policies.  As a result 2 months after the German election no clear agreement has been reached for a new government made up of the CDU, CSU, Free Democrats and the Greens.  It looks like a difficult coalition to form requiring all the skills of chancellor Merkel and her allies, and in uncharted territory. The FDP leader Lindner sees a 50-50 chance for the talks. The Greens do not want a new election. Merkel's CDU party won about 33% of the vote. To not form a minority government she needs the FDP and the Greens to get over 50% of voters represented in the new government.

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German chancellor Merkel appeals to Christian Democrats in the German parliament to support the European Financial Stability Fund. Other 17 members of the eurozone will have to approve their share of the rescue fund's guarantees.

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France's Foreign Minister Ayrault says of Boris Johnson: "He lied a lot to the British. Now, he is the one with his back against the wall." He sees missing in Johnson the "clear, credible and reliable" person with whom he can negotiate. Ray Stegner, deputy chairman of Germay's Social Democrat Party says "May looks weaker after such a choice of personnel. Now he is negotiating Brexit. Enjoy the trip." In China he is seen as a celebrity not a serious person. Bildt, ZDF, see in this a part of British humor. Jurgen Hardt, foreign policy spokesman for Christian Democrats Party in Germany had a different take on Johnson- seeing this as an astute move because if the government one day comes to conclude that Brexit should not be completed then having Johnson on board to explain it to the people would guarantee support in her party and with the people of England. In her first speech May emphasized that she was a "Unionist." Her first important meeting was with Nicola Sturgeon of Scotland and made Scotland's agreement necessary before invoking Article 50. Her talk of "burning injustices" for the poor and the underprivileged also goes to address the root of the problems behind the Leave vote. By having Johnson on board she can focus on the issues that really matter and which were on the minds of people in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland- to ensure that the economic system works for all.   ...

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Armin Laschet is an affable journalist from Aachen, Germany. He is premier in North Rhine Westphalia in a coalition with the FDP. He is seen as a likable person who can win over others. Support from the Greens or the FDP in a future coalition is seen as one way to form a government. He was part of the Pizza Connection, a group of Christian Democrats and Greens who met in the wine cellar of an Italian restaurant in Bonn, to pull together people in areas that they agree. He has the dual qualities of being on Merkel's side in the crises she faced and also having a nuanced approach to tough issues to bring together different people.

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Compared to chancellor Scholz Merz sets his goals and is clear about his goals. His active style is different from previous chancellors. His first meeting with Trump showed this personal style which is proving to be more effective than Merkel or Scholz. Merz had to wait for a long time in the private sector till Merkel retired to come back to politics. During Merkel's early years Merz challenged Merkel for leadership of the Christian Democrats party. Merkel's policy on migrants has proved to be a failure, and Merz is now in a position to take the CSU in a new direction closing the border and working closely with the US and Britain, Italy, on border enforcement. Merz is also unique and very different from the disinvestment period under Merkel which let German infrastructure deteriorate and fall apart, another failure of Merkel's years as chancellor. Merz's first action was to get close to a trillion dollars of new funding to rebuild defense and infrastructure over the next decade. Merz is head of a coalition with the SPD with SPD's leader Lars Klingbeil as finance minister. Scholz headed a coalition that was dysfunctional as the Free Democrats Lindner was opposed to investment in German economy from the outset. Under Merkel the Christian Democrats took no action to rebuild Germany, and were preoccupied with eurozone finances. ...

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Germany's social-affairs minister, Ursula von der Leyden, presents the "fourth poverty and wealth report," in March 2013. The issue of inequality is arousing public sentiment in Germany with this becoming an election issue along with the euro crisis and energy reform. The term Gerechtigkeit means "justice" in German and is associated with the idea of equality. The Social Democrats Party and the Greens talk about this in terms of "social scissors" opening wider. The Minder Initiative which passed in Switzerland enabling shareholders to restrict executive pay has led to public discussion in Germany for a similiar approach to be adopted by Germany. The ruling Christian Democratic Party (CDU) of Angela Merkel and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) party are different from other parties in Europe because of their Catholic and Lutheran roots which favor social solidarity. The FDP party in the ruling coalition supports free market principles but lacks popular support. The Economist cites the work of the German think tank DIW on inequality, which shows inequality showing sharp rise after German reunification around 1991, especially in East Germany. The situation moderates with improvements in inequality in East Germany and a slight improvement in West Germany after 2005. Both East and W. Germany have moved up overall in the Ginni coefficeint which measures inequality from about 0.4 in 1991 to about 0.5 in 2010, showing that the situation has stabilized at a higher level of inequality. Part of this could be because of the shift to temporary workers at lower wages about this time as German industry made efforts to keep wages down and improve competitiveness, even as overall conditions in the economy improved in the last decade. The Economist cites another study by the Initiative for a New Social Market Economy, a German think tank, which compares Germany with other members of the OECD. Germany ranks closer to Scandinavian countries in seventh place in this study, but does poorly in equal oportunities with 14th place. Germany lags behind other OECD and European countries in opportunities for women to work full time. Germany lacks enough daycare facilities for small children so that their mothers can work full time. There is a shortage of about 150,000 for preschool daycare openings in Germany, acccording to information cited by Deutsche Welle from government sources....