This site features work by University of Miami students enrolled in Political Science 382: German Politics and Society during the fall semester 2021. Students have researched leading candidates, party platforms, and key campaign issues in order to provide information about the German Federal Election of 2021 to interested readers. I hope you find their research informative!
Page Outline:
1. The Largest Parties' Lead Candidates
2. Party Platforms (scroll down to view)
3. Key Campaign Issues (scroll down to view)
Page Outline:
1. The Largest Parties' Lead Candidates
2. Party Platforms (scroll down to view)
3. Key Campaign Issues (scroll down to view)
The Largest Parties' Lead Candidates
Armin Laschet (CDU/CSU)
By Brandon M Brillant
Armin Laschet was born in 1961 to a working-class family with three younger siblings. He was raised Catholic which greatly impacted his political views. The Laschet family had no connection to German politics prior to Armin. Armin was excused from mandatory military service due to a physical disability and decided to instead study law. His academics lead him from the University of Munich to the University of Bonn which he attended on scholarship. From 1983 to 1987, Laschet worked as a student assistant to Aachen’s Bundestag representative Hans Stercken. Sterken was a leader in the CDU/CSU and served as a political mentor to Laschet. Laschet passed his law examination but decided to pursue a career in journalism rather than law. During this time, Laschet got married to Susanne Malangré with whom he has three children. In 1989, Laschet was elected to the Aachen City Council, the youngest member in history. He remained on the City Council until 2004. Laschet was then elected to the Bundestag for the first time in 1994 from the ward of Charlemagne. In the Bundestag, he focused heavily on foreign policy and served on the Committee for Economic Cooperation and Development, Committee for European Union Affairs, and as deputy member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Laschet eventually was defeated and left the Bundestag to return to more private life. Laschet was given a cabinet post in 2005 in North Rhine-Westphalia under Jürgen Rüttgers as the minister of Intergenerational Affairs, Family, Women, and Integration. The CDU suffered a series of losses and gains in the North Rhine-Westphalia government and Laschet struggled to rise to the top of the political ladder. Finally in 2017, Laschet ascended to the pinnacle of regional politics as minister president of North Rhine-Westphalia. With this achievement, Laschet was launched to national prominence. When Angela Merkel announced that she intended to step down from the position of party leader in 2018, Laschet did not attempt to succeed her. In 2020, the succeeding party leader Kramp-Karrenbauer stepped down and Laschet finally seized the opportunity. He announced his candidacy and made it clear that he would also seek to succeed Angela Merkel for the chancellorship. (Marx, 2021) Laschet won the party leader election and now is in the running for German chancellor. His candidacy has faltered in the past year as he has fallen behind in the polls to SDP candidate Olaf Scholz. Laschet has suffered a series of political debacles causing his decline. In the aftermath of serious floods this year, he was seen laughing and making jokes while attending a somber speech. Additionally, he seems to take insincere positions within his own party as to appeal to everyone. (Welle) Laschet is loyal to Angela Merkel’s view for the nation and concurred with many of her political moves as chancellor. He is popular due to his ability to forge coalition governments with seemingly oppositional forces. (Welle, 2020)
Bibliography:
Marx, Stefan. “Armin Laschet.” Geschichte Der CDU, Konrad-Adenauer-Stuftung, 8 July 2021, www.kas.de/en/web/geschichte-der-cdu/biogram-detail/-/content/armin-laschet-1.
Welle, Deutsche. “Armin Laschet: The German Conservatives' Embattled Chancellor Candidate: DW: 13.09.2021.” DW.COM, www.dw.com/en/armin-laschet-the-german-conservatives-embattled-chancellor-candidate/a-57092183.
Armin Laschet was born in 1961 to a working-class family with three younger siblings. He was raised Catholic which greatly impacted his political views. The Laschet family had no connection to German politics prior to Armin. Armin was excused from mandatory military service due to a physical disability and decided to instead study law. His academics lead him from the University of Munich to the University of Bonn which he attended on scholarship. From 1983 to 1987, Laschet worked as a student assistant to Aachen’s Bundestag representative Hans Stercken. Sterken was a leader in the CDU/CSU and served as a political mentor to Laschet. Laschet passed his law examination but decided to pursue a career in journalism rather than law. During this time, Laschet got married to Susanne Malangré with whom he has three children. In 1989, Laschet was elected to the Aachen City Council, the youngest member in history. He remained on the City Council until 2004. Laschet was then elected to the Bundestag for the first time in 1994 from the ward of Charlemagne. In the Bundestag, he focused heavily on foreign policy and served on the Committee for Economic Cooperation and Development, Committee for European Union Affairs, and as deputy member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Laschet eventually was defeated and left the Bundestag to return to more private life. Laschet was given a cabinet post in 2005 in North Rhine-Westphalia under Jürgen Rüttgers as the minister of Intergenerational Affairs, Family, Women, and Integration. The CDU suffered a series of losses and gains in the North Rhine-Westphalia government and Laschet struggled to rise to the top of the political ladder. Finally in 2017, Laschet ascended to the pinnacle of regional politics as minister president of North Rhine-Westphalia. With this achievement, Laschet was launched to national prominence. When Angela Merkel announced that she intended to step down from the position of party leader in 2018, Laschet did not attempt to succeed her. In 2020, the succeeding party leader Kramp-Karrenbauer stepped down and Laschet finally seized the opportunity. He announced his candidacy and made it clear that he would also seek to succeed Angela Merkel for the chancellorship. (Marx, 2021) Laschet won the party leader election and now is in the running for German chancellor. His candidacy has faltered in the past year as he has fallen behind in the polls to SDP candidate Olaf Scholz. Laschet has suffered a series of political debacles causing his decline. In the aftermath of serious floods this year, he was seen laughing and making jokes while attending a somber speech. Additionally, he seems to take insincere positions within his own party as to appeal to everyone. (Welle) Laschet is loyal to Angela Merkel’s view for the nation and concurred with many of her political moves as chancellor. He is popular due to his ability to forge coalition governments with seemingly oppositional forces. (Welle, 2020)
Bibliography:
Marx, Stefan. “Armin Laschet.” Geschichte Der CDU, Konrad-Adenauer-Stuftung, 8 July 2021, www.kas.de/en/web/geschichte-der-cdu/biogram-detail/-/content/armin-laschet-1.
Welle, Deutsche. “Armin Laschet: The German Conservatives' Embattled Chancellor Candidate: DW: 13.09.2021.” DW.COM, www.dw.com/en/armin-laschet-the-german-conservatives-embattled-chancellor-candidate/a-57092183.
Olaf Scholz (SPD)
By Rafael Bichara
On August 10, 2020, the SPD nominated Olaf Scholz to be their Chancellor candidate for the 2021 federal election. It was an unusually early decision in the context of German politics and came at a time when the SPD had sunk to fourth place among Germany’s parties. Yet, despite the less than ideal conditions under which he was nominated, Olaf Scholz managed to reposition the SPD as one of the top parties in the race and himself as one of the top choices for Chancellor (Jennen and Reiter 2021). Born in Osnabrück in 1958, Scholz joined the SPD at the age of 17 after being inspired by the Chancellery of Helmut Schmidt. Shortly afterwards, Scholz attended university in Hamburg for law and kickstarted his political career with leadership positions in the SPD and European Socialists youth organizations (SPD 2021).
In 1998 Olaf Scholz was directly elected to the Bundestag from the Hamburg-Altona district. He then joined the government of Hamburg as Senator for the Interior and eventually became the General Secretary of the SPD. In 2011, Scholz was elected Mayor of Hamburg, a position he held until 2018 when he joined Angela Merkel’s government as Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister (SPD 2021). While Finance Minister, Scholz oversaw the government’s 350 billion Euro Coronavirus recovery package, a popular effort that bolstered his reputation as a pragmatist and set him apart from a field of competitors marred by gaffes and scandals (Schuetze and Bennhold 2021).
The 63-year-old Scholz has undergone a considerable ideological shift during his long career. When Scholz first joined the SPD, he was a dedicated socialist openly critical of capitalism (Jennen and Reiter 2021). However, his views have since moderated and he is now known as a centrist whose plans for Germany are based more on stability then rapid change (Schuetze and Bennhold 2021). In fact, Scholz has made emulating Merkel one of the defining themes of his campaign, attracting supporters of the current government but failing to stir anything other than passive acceptance from the SPD base (Jennen and Reiter 2021). The party’s left-wing base, which failed to elect Scholz as party leader in 2019, has often criticized their chancellor candidate for being too centrist and too closely aligned with Merkel’s CDU. However, despite this ideological conflict, Scholz has remained a loyal party member willing to do whatever the SPD asks of him (Kinkartz 2021).
Current polls track the SPD in first place with 25% of the second vote and Scholz likewise in first place with 43% of Germans wanting him to be Chancellor (Goldenberg 2021). However, a Scholz victory remains far from certain. If the SPD wins only 25% of the vote, they will need at least two other parties to govern. Scholz has indicated that he wants to govern with the Greens and has left the door open to both the FDP and Die Linke (Nienaber 2021). If polls hold, Scholz will need to successfully manage trilateral coalition talks before he can become Chancellor.
Bibliography
Goldenberg, Rina. “German Election: SPD Makes Major Gains against Merkel's CDU.” Deutsche Welle, 2 Sept. 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-spd-makes-major-gains-against-merkels-cdu/a-59066377
Jennen, Birgit, and Chris Reiter. “Olaf Scholz Had a Plan to Win the German Vote. But First He Needed a Crisis.” Bloomberg, 8 Sept. 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-09-09/germany-election-scholz-had-a-plan-to-succeed-merkel-but-he-needed-a-crisis
Kinkartz, Sabine. “Olaf Scholz: The SPD's candidate for chancellor stands for pragmatism over personality.” Deutsche Welle, 13 Sept. 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/germany-spd-chancellor-olaf-scholz/a-54517533
Nienaber, Michael. “Boosted by surge in polls, Germany's Scholz bets on coalition with Greens.” Reuters. 5 Sept. 2021. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/boosted-by-surge-polls-germanys-scholz-bets-coalition-with-greens-2021-09-05/
Schuetze, Christopher F, and Katrin Bennhold. “Olaf Scholz Is Running as the Next Angela Merkel, and It Seems to Be Working.” The New York Times, 9 Sept. 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/world/europe/olaf-scholz-merkel-germany-election.html
SPD. 2021. “About Me Olaf Scholz.” Accessed September 10, 2021. https://olaf-scholz.spd.de/ueber-mich/
On August 10, 2020, the SPD nominated Olaf Scholz to be their Chancellor candidate for the 2021 federal election. It was an unusually early decision in the context of German politics and came at a time when the SPD had sunk to fourth place among Germany’s parties. Yet, despite the less than ideal conditions under which he was nominated, Olaf Scholz managed to reposition the SPD as one of the top parties in the race and himself as one of the top choices for Chancellor (Jennen and Reiter 2021). Born in Osnabrück in 1958, Scholz joined the SPD at the age of 17 after being inspired by the Chancellery of Helmut Schmidt. Shortly afterwards, Scholz attended university in Hamburg for law and kickstarted his political career with leadership positions in the SPD and European Socialists youth organizations (SPD 2021).
In 1998 Olaf Scholz was directly elected to the Bundestag from the Hamburg-Altona district. He then joined the government of Hamburg as Senator for the Interior and eventually became the General Secretary of the SPD. In 2011, Scholz was elected Mayor of Hamburg, a position he held until 2018 when he joined Angela Merkel’s government as Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister (SPD 2021). While Finance Minister, Scholz oversaw the government’s 350 billion Euro Coronavirus recovery package, a popular effort that bolstered his reputation as a pragmatist and set him apart from a field of competitors marred by gaffes and scandals (Schuetze and Bennhold 2021).
The 63-year-old Scholz has undergone a considerable ideological shift during his long career. When Scholz first joined the SPD, he was a dedicated socialist openly critical of capitalism (Jennen and Reiter 2021). However, his views have since moderated and he is now known as a centrist whose plans for Germany are based more on stability then rapid change (Schuetze and Bennhold 2021). In fact, Scholz has made emulating Merkel one of the defining themes of his campaign, attracting supporters of the current government but failing to stir anything other than passive acceptance from the SPD base (Jennen and Reiter 2021). The party’s left-wing base, which failed to elect Scholz as party leader in 2019, has often criticized their chancellor candidate for being too centrist and too closely aligned with Merkel’s CDU. However, despite this ideological conflict, Scholz has remained a loyal party member willing to do whatever the SPD asks of him (Kinkartz 2021).
Current polls track the SPD in first place with 25% of the second vote and Scholz likewise in first place with 43% of Germans wanting him to be Chancellor (Goldenberg 2021). However, a Scholz victory remains far from certain. If the SPD wins only 25% of the vote, they will need at least two other parties to govern. Scholz has indicated that he wants to govern with the Greens and has left the door open to both the FDP and Die Linke (Nienaber 2021). If polls hold, Scholz will need to successfully manage trilateral coalition talks before he can become Chancellor.
Bibliography
Goldenberg, Rina. “German Election: SPD Makes Major Gains against Merkel's CDU.” Deutsche Welle, 2 Sept. 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-spd-makes-major-gains-against-merkels-cdu/a-59066377
Jennen, Birgit, and Chris Reiter. “Olaf Scholz Had a Plan to Win the German Vote. But First He Needed a Crisis.” Bloomberg, 8 Sept. 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-09-09/germany-election-scholz-had-a-plan-to-succeed-merkel-but-he-needed-a-crisis
Kinkartz, Sabine. “Olaf Scholz: The SPD's candidate for chancellor stands for pragmatism over personality.” Deutsche Welle, 13 Sept. 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/germany-spd-chancellor-olaf-scholz/a-54517533
Nienaber, Michael. “Boosted by surge in polls, Germany's Scholz bets on coalition with Greens.” Reuters. 5 Sept. 2021. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/boosted-by-surge-polls-germanys-scholz-bets-coalition-with-greens-2021-09-05/
Schuetze, Christopher F, and Katrin Bennhold. “Olaf Scholz Is Running as the Next Angela Merkel, and It Seems to Be Working.” The New York Times, 9 Sept. 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/world/europe/olaf-scholz-merkel-germany-election.html
SPD. 2021. “About Me Olaf Scholz.” Accessed September 10, 2021. https://olaf-scholz.spd.de/ueber-mich/
Annalena Baerbock (The Greens)
By Aidan
Annalena Baerbock is the leader of the German Greens and a candidate in the upcoming election to determine the Chancellor of Germany. Baerbock was born in 1980 to a middle class family, her father was an engineer and her mother a social worker. She grew up in Schulenburg, West Germany, and spent her teenage years playing various sports and competing as a trampolinist, winning three national titles (Nugent 2021). Annalena Baerbock never dreamed of being a politician as a child, but joined the Greens in 2005 after witnessing the accession of Poland to the EU as an intern at the European Parliament (Nugent 2021). Baerbock studied political science and public law at the University of Hamburg, and earned her master’s in international law at the London School of Economics. She ran for the Bundestag unsuccessfully in 2009, but ran again in 2013 and was able to secure a seat (McKenzie 2021), kickstarting her political career. After her election to the Bundestag, Annalena Baerbock began rising through the ranks of the Greens, becoming their climate policy spokesperson and eventually co-leader (McKenzie 2021). The Greens have often been split between two wings of the party known as the Realos and the Fundis, of which Annalena Baerbock represents the former. The Realos are regarded as the more moderate wing, which puts Baerbock in a better position to negotiate when it comes to coalition-building.
When it comes to policy, the name of her party says a lot about the priorities that Baerbock represents: climate change is at the forefront of her campaign. One of her major proposals is the expenditure of 500 million euros over the next ten years in green investments, helping industries to transition to cleaner methods of production (Bennhold 2021). In order to pay for this she proposes the government scrap the German “Black-zero” policy, which has been met with strong criticism from her opponents.
As the youngest candidate running for Chancellor and the second youngest to run in history (and the second woman to run next to Merkel), Baerbock’s campaign has had much to prove. At the beginning of her campaign it appeared that she was doing exceedingly well, with the Greens polling first place ahead of the CDU/CSU in May of 2021 (Politico 2021). Unfortunately, a series of scandals has led to a gradual decline in the polls for Baerbock. In June she was accused of exaggerating her involvement with certain organizations on her resume, and was accused of plagiarizing parts of her book shortly after (Nugent 2021). She also failed to capitalize upon the floods in western Germany, despite their relevance to her campaign (Bennhold 2021). These recent slip-ups, as well as the trends shown in the polls, have made it increasingly unlikely that Annalena Baerbock will become the next Chancellor. Recent polls from Politico show the SPD in the lead with 25%, the CDU/CSU trailing behind at 21%, and the Greens in third with 16% (Politico 2021). Although a stark decline for Annalena Baerbock and the Greens since May, the political gains they have made in recent years make clear that they must not be underestimated.
References
Bennhold, Katrin. “She's Green. She's Young. And She Wants to Change Germany.” The New York Times, September 7, 2021.
“German Polls, Trends and Election News for Germany.” POLITICO. Accessed September 15, 2021. https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/germany/.
McKenzie, Sheena. “Meet Annalena Baerbock, the Trampolinist Giving Germany's Greens a Bounce in Race to Succeed Merkel.” CNN. Cable News Network, May 11, 2021. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/11/europe/annalena-baerbock-german-green-party-leader-cmd-grm-intl/index.html.
Nugent, Ciara. “Annalena Baerbock Wants to Radically Change Germany. She'll Have to Win Voters' Trust First.” MSN. Accessed September 15, 2021. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/annalena-baerbock-wants-to-radically-change-germany-shell-have-to-win-voters-trust-first/ar-AAOqZh5.
Annalena Baerbock is the leader of the German Greens and a candidate in the upcoming election to determine the Chancellor of Germany. Baerbock was born in 1980 to a middle class family, her father was an engineer and her mother a social worker. She grew up in Schulenburg, West Germany, and spent her teenage years playing various sports and competing as a trampolinist, winning three national titles (Nugent 2021). Annalena Baerbock never dreamed of being a politician as a child, but joined the Greens in 2005 after witnessing the accession of Poland to the EU as an intern at the European Parliament (Nugent 2021). Baerbock studied political science and public law at the University of Hamburg, and earned her master’s in international law at the London School of Economics. She ran for the Bundestag unsuccessfully in 2009, but ran again in 2013 and was able to secure a seat (McKenzie 2021), kickstarting her political career. After her election to the Bundestag, Annalena Baerbock began rising through the ranks of the Greens, becoming their climate policy spokesperson and eventually co-leader (McKenzie 2021). The Greens have often been split between two wings of the party known as the Realos and the Fundis, of which Annalena Baerbock represents the former. The Realos are regarded as the more moderate wing, which puts Baerbock in a better position to negotiate when it comes to coalition-building.
When it comes to policy, the name of her party says a lot about the priorities that Baerbock represents: climate change is at the forefront of her campaign. One of her major proposals is the expenditure of 500 million euros over the next ten years in green investments, helping industries to transition to cleaner methods of production (Bennhold 2021). In order to pay for this she proposes the government scrap the German “Black-zero” policy, which has been met with strong criticism from her opponents.
As the youngest candidate running for Chancellor and the second youngest to run in history (and the second woman to run next to Merkel), Baerbock’s campaign has had much to prove. At the beginning of her campaign it appeared that she was doing exceedingly well, with the Greens polling first place ahead of the CDU/CSU in May of 2021 (Politico 2021). Unfortunately, a series of scandals has led to a gradual decline in the polls for Baerbock. In June she was accused of exaggerating her involvement with certain organizations on her resume, and was accused of plagiarizing parts of her book shortly after (Nugent 2021). She also failed to capitalize upon the floods in western Germany, despite their relevance to her campaign (Bennhold 2021). These recent slip-ups, as well as the trends shown in the polls, have made it increasingly unlikely that Annalena Baerbock will become the next Chancellor. Recent polls from Politico show the SPD in the lead with 25%, the CDU/CSU trailing behind at 21%, and the Greens in third with 16% (Politico 2021). Although a stark decline for Annalena Baerbock and the Greens since May, the political gains they have made in recent years make clear that they must not be underestimated.
References
Bennhold, Katrin. “She's Green. She's Young. And She Wants to Change Germany.” The New York Times, September 7, 2021.
“German Polls, Trends and Election News for Germany.” POLITICO. Accessed September 15, 2021. https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/germany/.
McKenzie, Sheena. “Meet Annalena Baerbock, the Trampolinist Giving Germany's Greens a Bounce in Race to Succeed Merkel.” CNN. Cable News Network, May 11, 2021. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/11/europe/annalena-baerbock-german-green-party-leader-cmd-grm-intl/index.html.
Nugent, Ciara. “Annalena Baerbock Wants to Radically Change Germany. She'll Have to Win Voters' Trust First.” MSN. Accessed September 15, 2021. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/annalena-baerbock-wants-to-radically-change-germany-shell-have-to-win-voters-trust-first/ar-AAOqZh5.
Christian Lindner (FDP)
By Katya Irving
Christian Wolfgang Lindner, current leader of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), was born on January 7, 1979 in Wuppertal, the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany. However, he feels much more connected to the small town he grew up in, Wermelskirchen, located northeast of Cologne, Germany.[1] Upon graduating from Gymnasium, Lindner attended the University of Bonn from 1999 to 2006. He studied political science, constitutional law, and philosophy, and became an officer in the German Air Force Reserve.
In May 2000, five years after joining the FDP, Lindner became the youngest member in history of the NRW state parliament. By 2009, he was a member of the German Bundestag, becoming General Secretary of the federal party until 2011. In the 2012 NRW state election, Lindner was elected chairman of the FDP for the state government. In September 2013, the FDP was not re-elected to the German Bundestag, and Lindner immediately announced his candidacy for party chairmanship, and was elected federal chairman of the FDP in December. By September 2017, the party entered back into the Bundestag with the historic result of 10.7%. With such success, Lindner was elected leader of the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag.
At the heart of Lindner’s message stands individual freedom in economics, politics, and society: improved education, increased innovation, a laissez-faire market economy, digitalization, modernization, emissions trading, fairness for the self-employed, and marijuana legalization.[2] He is socially liberal and economically conservative for Germany in comparison to the other parties. There does not seem to be an issue where Lindner significantly differs from other members of the FDP. He is a strong representation of the party’s values.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, both Lindner and the FDP’s popularity and campaign performance has significantly improved. Due to the pandemic restrictions, many young voters are attracted to a party who’s core values fight for individual civil liberties and resist government over-reach.[3] In comparison to the AfD, the FDP did not deny the seriousness of the pandemic. In addition, the virus amplified the problem of digitalization in Germany, so voters are attracted to the party which advertises a more modern country. The FDP is polling at 12% for the 2021 general election, so although they will most likely be represented in the Bundestag based on the current trend, there is a slim chance of Lindner becoming Chancellor.[4] Other candidates outshine him: Armin Laschet of the CDU/CSU, Olaf Scholz of the SPD, and even Annalena Baerbock of the Greens.[5] There is, however, a possibility of a coalition due to the fact that the FDP can potentially work with both center-right and center-left parties.
Bibliography
Chazan, Guy. “German liberals eye government role as electoral prospects improve.” Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/2402ac1e-a2cb-4b61-9e38-786f0e99fa2f.
“German election: Who could succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor.” BBC News. September 3, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56821462.
Lindner, Christian. “Uber Mich.” https://www.christian-lindner.de/biografie.
“Poll of Polls: Polling From Across Europe.” Politico. Updated September 13, 2021. https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/germany/.
“Unsure Forderungen.” Frei Demokraten Partei. https://www.fdp.de/unsere-forderungen.
Footnotes
[1] Christian Lindner, “Uber Mich,” https://www.christian-lindner.de/biografie.
[2] “Unsure Forderungen,” Frei Demokraten Partei, https://www.fdp.de/unsere-forderungen.
[3] Guy Chazan, “German liberals eye government role as electoral prospects improve,” Financial Times, https://www.ft.com/content/2402ac1e-a2cb-4b61-9e38-786f0e99fa2f.
[4] “Poll of Polls: Polling From Across Europe,” Politico, updated September 13, 2021, https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/germany/.
[5] “German election: Who could succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor,” BBC News, September 3, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56821462.
Christian Wolfgang Lindner, current leader of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), was born on January 7, 1979 in Wuppertal, the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany. However, he feels much more connected to the small town he grew up in, Wermelskirchen, located northeast of Cologne, Germany.[1] Upon graduating from Gymnasium, Lindner attended the University of Bonn from 1999 to 2006. He studied political science, constitutional law, and philosophy, and became an officer in the German Air Force Reserve.
In May 2000, five years after joining the FDP, Lindner became the youngest member in history of the NRW state parliament. By 2009, he was a member of the German Bundestag, becoming General Secretary of the federal party until 2011. In the 2012 NRW state election, Lindner was elected chairman of the FDP for the state government. In September 2013, the FDP was not re-elected to the German Bundestag, and Lindner immediately announced his candidacy for party chairmanship, and was elected federal chairman of the FDP in December. By September 2017, the party entered back into the Bundestag with the historic result of 10.7%. With such success, Lindner was elected leader of the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag.
At the heart of Lindner’s message stands individual freedom in economics, politics, and society: improved education, increased innovation, a laissez-faire market economy, digitalization, modernization, emissions trading, fairness for the self-employed, and marijuana legalization.[2] He is socially liberal and economically conservative for Germany in comparison to the other parties. There does not seem to be an issue where Lindner significantly differs from other members of the FDP. He is a strong representation of the party’s values.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, both Lindner and the FDP’s popularity and campaign performance has significantly improved. Due to the pandemic restrictions, many young voters are attracted to a party who’s core values fight for individual civil liberties and resist government over-reach.[3] In comparison to the AfD, the FDP did not deny the seriousness of the pandemic. In addition, the virus amplified the problem of digitalization in Germany, so voters are attracted to the party which advertises a more modern country. The FDP is polling at 12% for the 2021 general election, so although they will most likely be represented in the Bundestag based on the current trend, there is a slim chance of Lindner becoming Chancellor.[4] Other candidates outshine him: Armin Laschet of the CDU/CSU, Olaf Scholz of the SPD, and even Annalena Baerbock of the Greens.[5] There is, however, a possibility of a coalition due to the fact that the FDP can potentially work with both center-right and center-left parties.
Bibliography
Chazan, Guy. “German liberals eye government role as electoral prospects improve.” Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/2402ac1e-a2cb-4b61-9e38-786f0e99fa2f.
“German election: Who could succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor.” BBC News. September 3, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56821462.
Lindner, Christian. “Uber Mich.” https://www.christian-lindner.de/biografie.
“Poll of Polls: Polling From Across Europe.” Politico. Updated September 13, 2021. https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/germany/.
“Unsure Forderungen.” Frei Demokraten Partei. https://www.fdp.de/unsere-forderungen.
Footnotes
[1] Christian Lindner, “Uber Mich,” https://www.christian-lindner.de/biografie.
[2] “Unsure Forderungen,” Frei Demokraten Partei, https://www.fdp.de/unsere-forderungen.
[3] Guy Chazan, “German liberals eye government role as electoral prospects improve,” Financial Times, https://www.ft.com/content/2402ac1e-a2cb-4b61-9e38-786f0e99fa2f.
[4] “Poll of Polls: Polling From Across Europe,” Politico, updated September 13, 2021, https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/germany/.
[5] “German election: Who could succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor,” BBC News, September 3, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56821462.
Left Party Lead Candidates
Dietmar Bartsch
By Zacharias Muleta
Given Germany’s (for lack of a better word) complicated relationship with both the far-left and far-right, it is no surprise that centrist parties such as the Christian Democrats dominate much of the Bundestag. However, this has not stopped parties such as Die Linke (The Left in German) from wielding influence in Germany. Currently, the leader of Die Linke is an economist named Dietmar Bartsch; he was born in what was formerly East Germany. After he finished his primary education, he graduated from the University of Economics of Berlin-Karlhorst, and received a doctorate in Moscow. He joined the Bundestag for the first time in 1998 and stayed for four years until leaving in 2002. After a few years in the private sector, he returned to the Bundestag, rising through the ranks of the Linke to become the chair of the Bundestag’s left flank.
Politically speaking, although Dietmar Bartsch is a member of The Left, he is definitively more centrist than the rest of his fellow leftists. For example, while many leftists in Germany oppose NATO and want Germany to leave it entirely, Bartsch supports foreign deployments of the military, calling the world without war a “wonderful utopia” (Schwarz 2021). In the same article he was also quoted as willing to form a coalition government with the SDP as well as the Greens, highlighting his willingness to work with others who may not be as far to his left. However, he would not form a coalition with the CDU/CSU, not because he was opposed to doing so, but because they were not willing to. In regards to his financial policies, Bartsch supports raising the tax rate on Germany’s top earners (with breaks for the middle class) as well as implementing a wealth tax. There is room for critique however, as his party alongside the SPD cut spending on public services and wages during the decade-long period that they controlled Berlin (Schwarz 2021). In another break from his party line, Bartsch supports sending German military infrastructure such as submarines to Israel. In defending his position, he stated “We want to reduce all arms exports all over the world, but we have a historical responsibility towards Israel...Germany cannot treat Israel in the same way as Saudi Arabia, for example ("Dietmar" 2021).” While Bartsch expressed that these are his views, they still managed to cause a rift within his party due to the majority consensus within the party that Israel is an apartheid state. While it is unlikely that Dietmar Bartsch will be appointed Chancellor, he may be able to wield a bigger influence than before, especially if the SPD wins the election. If that is the case, then the SPD and the Greens have the chance to form a coalition with either the Linke or the Free Democrats, the German equivalent of the Libertarian Party. Even though Merkel has stated that a “R2G” coalition would be dangerous (Karnitschnig 2021), these words have rung hollow, and only time will tell what happens to the Left.
Bibliography
“Dietmar Bartsch and Arms Exports to Israel: Left.” The Limited Times, May 19, 2021. https://newsrnd.com/news/2021-05-19-dietmar-bartsch-and-arms-exports-to-israel--left.SJ Mh9NGtd.html.
“Dr. Dietmar BARTSCH.” German Bundestag, September 24, 2017. https://www.bundestag.de/en/members/bartsch_dietmar-518176.
Karnitschnig, Matthew. “Why Germany's Red Scare Is Real.” POLITICO. POLITICO, September 8, 2021. https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-election-2021-red-scare-angela-merkel-cdu-arminlaschet-spd-olaf-scholz-greens/.
Schwarz, Peter. “Germany's Left Party Candidate for Chancellor Supports NATO and European Army.” World Socialist Web Site, August 8, 2021. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/08/09/left-a09.html.
Janine Wissler
By Pasqualina Sagarese
Janine Wissler, born May 23rd, 1981, is the candidate for Chancellor of the Left Party. She obtained a degree in Political Science from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in 2012. During her time in University she worked in the constituency office of Werner Dreibus, a Bundestag deputy. Wissler joined the Left party in 2007 when it merged with the Labor and Social Justice Party. Wissler was elected as part of the Left’s executive committee when it was founded. She was also the deputy leader of the parliamentary group in 2008-2009 and became co-leader in 2009. In 2011 she became the Left party’s leader in Frankfurt am Main, and ran for mayor in 2012 and 2018, but did not win the elections. In January 2020 Wissler received death threats from a neo-Nazi group called the NSU 2.0.
In September 2020 she announced she would be running for federal co-leadership of the Left. She withdrew her association with internal Marx21 and Socialist Left groups within the party. She won federal co-chairwoman with 84.2% of the votes in 2021. In May 2021 she announced she would run as the Left lead candidate for the upcoming election and was confirmed by the party, alongside Susanne Hennig-Wellsow.
Wissler could be considered an extreme left candidate because of her background in the Marxist group before, however her views seem to line up with the Left’s feminist and anti-capitalist approach. In regards to immigration, Wissler wants residence permits for non-EU citizens and she does not support deportation especially in cases of war. Most recently, Wissler has commented on relations in Afghanistan, agreeing with her party that there needs to be a stop to foreign deployments of the German military. However, she does think that foreign aid should have continued in Afghanistan to ensure civilian safety. Wissler also believes that an investigation needs to be held on far right and neo-Nazi groups like the ones that threatened her among other politicians. She and her party also want to end NATO and create a new security alliance that would include Russia. Wissler has a very strong view on climate change, as does her party. She even campaigned by riding her bicycle through Germany, and wants to protect ancient forests instead of building highways. This aligns strongly with her party’s views, who also want to see less construction of highways and more investment in free and low cost public transportation. In regards to climate, Wissler wants to ban domestic flights and phase out combustion engine cars. She also wants to offer climate-friendly and affordable public transportation, aligning with her party’s views. Wissler is also concerned with increasing nurses in hospitals and wants an increase in pay for employees. Wissler strongly supports a wealth tax that will help pay for infrastructure, more renewable energy, and schools. She also supports a 13 euro minimum wage and wants to end temporary employment that does not have a fixed-term. In regards to health, she wants the system to be egalitarian, with everyone paying 12% of income and receiving the same care (Goldenberg nd). Her and her party support a rent cap and the promotion of social housing construction, totaling 15 billion euros a year (Goldenberg nd). She and her party also advocate for the introduction of a minimum pension of 1200 euros and want to reduce the retirement age to 65 without deductions (Goldenberg nd).
Realistically, Janine Wissler is unlikely to become Chancellor because of the Left’s far-left stanced. As of now, the Left is declining in the polls to about 6% of the seats , making it unlikely for them to win the position of Chancellor to mainstream parties (McClure nd).
References
Goldenberg, R. (n.d.). The Left Party's anti-military Unique Selling Point: DW: 16.08.2021. DW.COM. Retrieved September 15, 2021, from https://www.dw.com/en/the-left-partys-anti-military-unique-selling-point/a-58878850. McClure, J. (n.d.). German election: The latest polls. Reuters. Retrieved September 15, 2021, from https://graphics.reuters.com/GERMANY-ELECTION/POLLS/jnpweekxypw/.
Romaniec, R. (n.d.). Janine Wissler: 'the German government is putting lives at risk in Afghanistan': DW: 23.08.2021. DW.COM. Retrieved September 15, 2021, from https://www.dw.com/en/janine-wissler-the-german-government-is-putting-lives-at-risk-in -afghanistan/a-58953912.
Über mich. Janine Wissler. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2021, from http://ob18.die-linke-frankfurt.de/ueber-mich/.
By Zacharias Muleta
Given Germany’s (for lack of a better word) complicated relationship with both the far-left and far-right, it is no surprise that centrist parties such as the Christian Democrats dominate much of the Bundestag. However, this has not stopped parties such as Die Linke (The Left in German) from wielding influence in Germany. Currently, the leader of Die Linke is an economist named Dietmar Bartsch; he was born in what was formerly East Germany. After he finished his primary education, he graduated from the University of Economics of Berlin-Karlhorst, and received a doctorate in Moscow. He joined the Bundestag for the first time in 1998 and stayed for four years until leaving in 2002. After a few years in the private sector, he returned to the Bundestag, rising through the ranks of the Linke to become the chair of the Bundestag’s left flank.
Politically speaking, although Dietmar Bartsch is a member of The Left, he is definitively more centrist than the rest of his fellow leftists. For example, while many leftists in Germany oppose NATO and want Germany to leave it entirely, Bartsch supports foreign deployments of the military, calling the world without war a “wonderful utopia” (Schwarz 2021). In the same article he was also quoted as willing to form a coalition government with the SDP as well as the Greens, highlighting his willingness to work with others who may not be as far to his left. However, he would not form a coalition with the CDU/CSU, not because he was opposed to doing so, but because they were not willing to. In regards to his financial policies, Bartsch supports raising the tax rate on Germany’s top earners (with breaks for the middle class) as well as implementing a wealth tax. There is room for critique however, as his party alongside the SPD cut spending on public services and wages during the decade-long period that they controlled Berlin (Schwarz 2021). In another break from his party line, Bartsch supports sending German military infrastructure such as submarines to Israel. In defending his position, he stated “We want to reduce all arms exports all over the world, but we have a historical responsibility towards Israel...Germany cannot treat Israel in the same way as Saudi Arabia, for example ("Dietmar" 2021).” While Bartsch expressed that these are his views, they still managed to cause a rift within his party due to the majority consensus within the party that Israel is an apartheid state. While it is unlikely that Dietmar Bartsch will be appointed Chancellor, he may be able to wield a bigger influence than before, especially if the SPD wins the election. If that is the case, then the SPD and the Greens have the chance to form a coalition with either the Linke or the Free Democrats, the German equivalent of the Libertarian Party. Even though Merkel has stated that a “R2G” coalition would be dangerous (Karnitschnig 2021), these words have rung hollow, and only time will tell what happens to the Left.
Bibliography
“Dietmar Bartsch and Arms Exports to Israel: Left.” The Limited Times, May 19, 2021. https://newsrnd.com/news/2021-05-19-dietmar-bartsch-and-arms-exports-to-israel--left.SJ Mh9NGtd.html.
“Dr. Dietmar BARTSCH.” German Bundestag, September 24, 2017. https://www.bundestag.de/en/members/bartsch_dietmar-518176.
Karnitschnig, Matthew. “Why Germany's Red Scare Is Real.” POLITICO. POLITICO, September 8, 2021. https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-election-2021-red-scare-angela-merkel-cdu-arminlaschet-spd-olaf-scholz-greens/.
Schwarz, Peter. “Germany's Left Party Candidate for Chancellor Supports NATO and European Army.” World Socialist Web Site, August 8, 2021. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/08/09/left-a09.html.
Janine Wissler
By Pasqualina Sagarese
Janine Wissler, born May 23rd, 1981, is the candidate for Chancellor of the Left Party. She obtained a degree in Political Science from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in 2012. During her time in University she worked in the constituency office of Werner Dreibus, a Bundestag deputy. Wissler joined the Left party in 2007 when it merged with the Labor and Social Justice Party. Wissler was elected as part of the Left’s executive committee when it was founded. She was also the deputy leader of the parliamentary group in 2008-2009 and became co-leader in 2009. In 2011 she became the Left party’s leader in Frankfurt am Main, and ran for mayor in 2012 and 2018, but did not win the elections. In January 2020 Wissler received death threats from a neo-Nazi group called the NSU 2.0.
In September 2020 she announced she would be running for federal co-leadership of the Left. She withdrew her association with internal Marx21 and Socialist Left groups within the party. She won federal co-chairwoman with 84.2% of the votes in 2021. In May 2021 she announced she would run as the Left lead candidate for the upcoming election and was confirmed by the party, alongside Susanne Hennig-Wellsow.
Wissler could be considered an extreme left candidate because of her background in the Marxist group before, however her views seem to line up with the Left’s feminist and anti-capitalist approach. In regards to immigration, Wissler wants residence permits for non-EU citizens and she does not support deportation especially in cases of war. Most recently, Wissler has commented on relations in Afghanistan, agreeing with her party that there needs to be a stop to foreign deployments of the German military. However, she does think that foreign aid should have continued in Afghanistan to ensure civilian safety. Wissler also believes that an investigation needs to be held on far right and neo-Nazi groups like the ones that threatened her among other politicians. She and her party also want to end NATO and create a new security alliance that would include Russia. Wissler has a very strong view on climate change, as does her party. She even campaigned by riding her bicycle through Germany, and wants to protect ancient forests instead of building highways. This aligns strongly with her party’s views, who also want to see less construction of highways and more investment in free and low cost public transportation. In regards to climate, Wissler wants to ban domestic flights and phase out combustion engine cars. She also wants to offer climate-friendly and affordable public transportation, aligning with her party’s views. Wissler is also concerned with increasing nurses in hospitals and wants an increase in pay for employees. Wissler strongly supports a wealth tax that will help pay for infrastructure, more renewable energy, and schools. She also supports a 13 euro minimum wage and wants to end temporary employment that does not have a fixed-term. In regards to health, she wants the system to be egalitarian, with everyone paying 12% of income and receiving the same care (Goldenberg nd). Her and her party support a rent cap and the promotion of social housing construction, totaling 15 billion euros a year (Goldenberg nd). She and her party also advocate for the introduction of a minimum pension of 1200 euros and want to reduce the retirement age to 65 without deductions (Goldenberg nd).
Realistically, Janine Wissler is unlikely to become Chancellor because of the Left’s far-left stanced. As of now, the Left is declining in the polls to about 6% of the seats , making it unlikely for them to win the position of Chancellor to mainstream parties (McClure nd).
References
Goldenberg, R. (n.d.). The Left Party's anti-military Unique Selling Point: DW: 16.08.2021. DW.COM. Retrieved September 15, 2021, from https://www.dw.com/en/the-left-partys-anti-military-unique-selling-point/a-58878850. McClure, J. (n.d.). German election: The latest polls. Reuters. Retrieved September 15, 2021, from https://graphics.reuters.com/GERMANY-ELECTION/POLLS/jnpweekxypw/.
Romaniec, R. (n.d.). Janine Wissler: 'the German government is putting lives at risk in Afghanistan': DW: 23.08.2021. DW.COM. Retrieved September 15, 2021, from https://www.dw.com/en/janine-wissler-the-german-government-is-putting-lives-at-risk-in -afghanistan/a-58953912.
Über mich. Janine Wissler. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2021, from http://ob18.die-linke-frankfurt.de/ueber-mich/.
Alternative for Germany Lead Candidates
Tino Chrupalla
By K
Tino Chrupalla is a German born member of the Alternative für Deutschland party, serving as a federal parliamentary member and deputy whip of the party since 2017.
Chrupalla was born in the German state of Weißwasser in 1975. In his youth, he joined the Christian Democratic Youth. He attended trade school to become a painter in 2003, and did that primarily for many years, running his own company. In 2015, he joined the AfD, and won a seat for the district of Görlitz in 2016. One year later, he won a federal seat for the same district. His political career has only improved since then (Deutscher Bundestag 2017).
Chrupalla holds a nationalistic and “Germany First” view on politics, in line with the AfD. He strongly opposes the offering of asylum towards refugees, specifically Afghani refugees from the recent crisis in Afghanistan, while saying “There are still 30,000 Afghans in this country who do not have the right to stay here. (Hallam 2021)” Chrupalla also strongly refutes climate change, stating “We don't deny... Why do we even have to use the word 'deny’? We're saying that the impact human activities have on climate change is minimal – and it is! (Hallam 2021)” He also strongly opposes many forms of electricity and CO2 tax, citing a high rate of inflation as the result of such policies (Chrupalla 2021). On the state of the pandemic, Chrupalla has stated that COVID-19 is “a virus that has spread throughout the world and needs to be taken seriously,” but followed it by saying that it has resulted in “hysteria” and is just “another virus. (Hallam 2021)” This is, however, not the strongest point of view among party members, who have led anti-vaccine and anti-COVID protests (Nasr 2021). Additionally, Chrupalla has been very critical of outgoing Chancellor Merkel (Hallam 2021).
Chrupalla has been under surveillance by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution since 2019 for reportedly meeting in private with Holocaust denial groups as well as using terms in speeches that were often used by Nazis (Web.de News 2021).
Unfortunately for Chrupalla and the AfD, the chances of him, or anyone else in the AfD for that matter being elected Chancellor, is very low. The AfD is the second bottom party in the main polls, the only one lower being Die Linke, with voter opinion polling at 11.4% and 6.1% respectively (Clarke and Voce 2021). This means that the Freie Demokraten, Grüne, SPD, and the CDU/CSU are all ahead, controlling a majority of the polls and thus the Bundestag. Perhaps in the future the AfD will gain more popularity from a blunder by a major party; however, this seems unlikely. For now, Chrupalla and his party will remain a fringe of the right.
Bibliography
Clarke, Seán, and Antonio Voce. “German Election Poll Tracker: Who Will Be the NEXT CHANCELLOR?” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, September 13, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/13/german-election-poll-tracker-who-will-be-the-next-chancellor.
Hallam, Mark. “Exclusive: Afghans Should Be 'Sent Back at The Border,' Says AfD Lead Candidate Tino CHRUPALLA.” DW. Deutsche Welle, September 2, 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/exclusive-afghans-should-be-sent-back-at-the-border-says-afd-lead-candidate-tino-chrupalla/a-59059393.
Nasr, Joseph. “Divided Far-Right AFD Loses Ground in East German Stronghold.” Edited by Kevin Liffey. Reuters. Thomson Reuters Corporation, June 7, 2021. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/divided-far-right-afd-loses-ground-east-german-stronghold-2021-06-07/.
“Tino Chrupalla im Bundestag.” Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Foundation, May 14, 2020. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tino_Chrupalla,_2020.jpg.
“Tino Chrupalla.” Deutscher Bundestag. Deutscher Bundestag, November 1, 2017. https://www.bundestag.de/abgeordnete/biografien/C/518884-518884.
“Tino Chrupalla: Steckbrief, Bilder Und News.” WEB.DE News. Accessed September 14, 2021. https://web.de/magazine/politik/thema/tino-chrupalla.
Tino Chrupalla Tweet: https://twitter.com/Tino_Chrupalla/status/1436263710541197319?s=20
Alice Weidel
By Samuel Stitt
Alice Weidel, co-chair of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, was born February 6, 1979, in Gütersloh in West Germany. She was raised in Versmold and graduated from the University of Bayreuth at the top of her class, receiving degrees in business and economics. Soon after graduating in 2004, she went to work for Goldman Sachs for a short stint as an analyst in asset management in Frankfurt from July 2005 to June 2006 (Schuster 2017). In the late 2000s, Weidel moved to China and worked at the Bank of China, spending six years there, learning Mandarin in the process. Upon returning to Germany, she went back to University at the Faculty of Law and Economics in Bayreuth, receiving her doctorate summa cum laude in philosophy and international development and writing her doctoral thesis on the future of the Chinese pension system. From March 2011 to May 2013, Weidel worked at Allianz Global Investor in Frankfurt, then shifted to working for an animal feed supplier company named Heristo until 2014. She then became a freelance business consultant for Foodora and Rocket Internet (Amann and Becker 2017).
Initially becoming interested in the party for their stance against the Euro in 2013, she was elected to the federal executive committee of the AfD in June 2015, eventually leading to her 2017 election as co-lead candidate of the party. Becoming one of the primary faces of the AfD, she quickly rose in popularity in the party for her timely opposition to Angela Merkel's 2015 asylum policy, which allowed immigrants to enter the country without qualifying for asylum under existing German laws. Weidel called Merkel "insane" for her actions (Ma 2017).
Overall, Weidel presents herself as a more moderate version of the party's typical candidate. Regardless, most of her political stances align very closely with the party's identity. She believes the EU is beneficial but also wants countries with weak economies to leave. Some of her more controversial policies align with many of the AfD's core beliefs regarding Islam (Ma 2017). Weidel believes minarets and Muslim headscarves should be banned across Germany, which has led to backlash from other German parties (Schumacher 2021). Possibly the most interesting of her beliefs are her policies regarding gay marriage. Weidel, a lesbian with a partner and two children, is not against same-sex marriage like much of the AfD party; however, she believes its legalization was a very unimportant issue compared to the country's immigration crisis. In a tweet sent in June of 2017 Weidel tweeted, "[Holding] the 'marriage for all' debate while millions of Muslims illegally immigrate to Germany is a joke!"(Ma 2017).
The AfD's rapid growth since 2013 has given the party potential to gain significantly more power in the future elections, as they managed to gain 87 seats in the Bundestag in 2017. Though polling shows they are down from 16% in September 2019 to 11%, they still have become a formidable opposition party in German politics, with Alice Weidel playing a prominent role in this rise (Politico 2021).
Bibliography
Amann, Melanie, and Becker,Sven. “The New Face Of Afd: How Right-Wing Is Alice Weidel?” DER SPIEGEL. DER SPIEGEL, May 4, 2017. https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/the-new-face-of-afd-how-right-wing-is-aliceweidel-a-1146038.html.
Ma, Alexandra. “Germany's Far-Right Party Surged to Its Best Election Result since the Nazis - Meet Marine Le PEN-LIKE Leader Alice Weidel.” Business Insider. Business Insider, September 25, 2017. https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-afd-alice-weidel-everything-you-need-to-know-2 017-9#her-views-were-not-always-extreme-her-old-friends-say-4.
Politico. “POLITICO Poll of Polls - German Polls, Trends and Election News for Germany.” POLITICO. Accessed September 16, 2021. https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/germany/.
Schumacher, Elizabeth. “Germany's AfD Wants Ban on Wearing a Headscarf In Street.” DW.COM, May 25, 2017. https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-afd-wants-ban-on-wearing-a-headscarf-in-street/a-3901 0637.
Schuster, Kathleen. “AfD's Alice Weidel: The Pride of the Populists, a Mystery to Everyone Else.” DW.COM, April 9, 2017. https://www.dw.com/en/afds-alice-weidel-the-pride-of-the-populists-a-mystery-to-everyoneelse/a-40356769.
By K
Tino Chrupalla is a German born member of the Alternative für Deutschland party, serving as a federal parliamentary member and deputy whip of the party since 2017.
Chrupalla was born in the German state of Weißwasser in 1975. In his youth, he joined the Christian Democratic Youth. He attended trade school to become a painter in 2003, and did that primarily for many years, running his own company. In 2015, he joined the AfD, and won a seat for the district of Görlitz in 2016. One year later, he won a federal seat for the same district. His political career has only improved since then (Deutscher Bundestag 2017).
Chrupalla holds a nationalistic and “Germany First” view on politics, in line with the AfD. He strongly opposes the offering of asylum towards refugees, specifically Afghani refugees from the recent crisis in Afghanistan, while saying “There are still 30,000 Afghans in this country who do not have the right to stay here. (Hallam 2021)” Chrupalla also strongly refutes climate change, stating “We don't deny... Why do we even have to use the word 'deny’? We're saying that the impact human activities have on climate change is minimal – and it is! (Hallam 2021)” He also strongly opposes many forms of electricity and CO2 tax, citing a high rate of inflation as the result of such policies (Chrupalla 2021). On the state of the pandemic, Chrupalla has stated that COVID-19 is “a virus that has spread throughout the world and needs to be taken seriously,” but followed it by saying that it has resulted in “hysteria” and is just “another virus. (Hallam 2021)” This is, however, not the strongest point of view among party members, who have led anti-vaccine and anti-COVID protests (Nasr 2021). Additionally, Chrupalla has been very critical of outgoing Chancellor Merkel (Hallam 2021).
Chrupalla has been under surveillance by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution since 2019 for reportedly meeting in private with Holocaust denial groups as well as using terms in speeches that were often used by Nazis (Web.de News 2021).
Unfortunately for Chrupalla and the AfD, the chances of him, or anyone else in the AfD for that matter being elected Chancellor, is very low. The AfD is the second bottom party in the main polls, the only one lower being Die Linke, with voter opinion polling at 11.4% and 6.1% respectively (Clarke and Voce 2021). This means that the Freie Demokraten, Grüne, SPD, and the CDU/CSU are all ahead, controlling a majority of the polls and thus the Bundestag. Perhaps in the future the AfD will gain more popularity from a blunder by a major party; however, this seems unlikely. For now, Chrupalla and his party will remain a fringe of the right.
Bibliography
Clarke, Seán, and Antonio Voce. “German Election Poll Tracker: Who Will Be the NEXT CHANCELLOR?” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, September 13, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/13/german-election-poll-tracker-who-will-be-the-next-chancellor.
Hallam, Mark. “Exclusive: Afghans Should Be 'Sent Back at The Border,' Says AfD Lead Candidate Tino CHRUPALLA.” DW. Deutsche Welle, September 2, 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/exclusive-afghans-should-be-sent-back-at-the-border-says-afd-lead-candidate-tino-chrupalla/a-59059393.
Nasr, Joseph. “Divided Far-Right AFD Loses Ground in East German Stronghold.” Edited by Kevin Liffey. Reuters. Thomson Reuters Corporation, June 7, 2021. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/divided-far-right-afd-loses-ground-east-german-stronghold-2021-06-07/.
“Tino Chrupalla im Bundestag.” Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Foundation, May 14, 2020. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tino_Chrupalla,_2020.jpg.
“Tino Chrupalla.” Deutscher Bundestag. Deutscher Bundestag, November 1, 2017. https://www.bundestag.de/abgeordnete/biografien/C/518884-518884.
“Tino Chrupalla: Steckbrief, Bilder Und News.” WEB.DE News. Accessed September 14, 2021. https://web.de/magazine/politik/thema/tino-chrupalla.
Tino Chrupalla Tweet: https://twitter.com/Tino_Chrupalla/status/1436263710541197319?s=20
Alice Weidel
By Samuel Stitt
Alice Weidel, co-chair of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, was born February 6, 1979, in Gütersloh in West Germany. She was raised in Versmold and graduated from the University of Bayreuth at the top of her class, receiving degrees in business and economics. Soon after graduating in 2004, she went to work for Goldman Sachs for a short stint as an analyst in asset management in Frankfurt from July 2005 to June 2006 (Schuster 2017). In the late 2000s, Weidel moved to China and worked at the Bank of China, spending six years there, learning Mandarin in the process. Upon returning to Germany, she went back to University at the Faculty of Law and Economics in Bayreuth, receiving her doctorate summa cum laude in philosophy and international development and writing her doctoral thesis on the future of the Chinese pension system. From March 2011 to May 2013, Weidel worked at Allianz Global Investor in Frankfurt, then shifted to working for an animal feed supplier company named Heristo until 2014. She then became a freelance business consultant for Foodora and Rocket Internet (Amann and Becker 2017).
Initially becoming interested in the party for their stance against the Euro in 2013, she was elected to the federal executive committee of the AfD in June 2015, eventually leading to her 2017 election as co-lead candidate of the party. Becoming one of the primary faces of the AfD, she quickly rose in popularity in the party for her timely opposition to Angela Merkel's 2015 asylum policy, which allowed immigrants to enter the country without qualifying for asylum under existing German laws. Weidel called Merkel "insane" for her actions (Ma 2017).
Overall, Weidel presents herself as a more moderate version of the party's typical candidate. Regardless, most of her political stances align very closely with the party's identity. She believes the EU is beneficial but also wants countries with weak economies to leave. Some of her more controversial policies align with many of the AfD's core beliefs regarding Islam (Ma 2017). Weidel believes minarets and Muslim headscarves should be banned across Germany, which has led to backlash from other German parties (Schumacher 2021). Possibly the most interesting of her beliefs are her policies regarding gay marriage. Weidel, a lesbian with a partner and two children, is not against same-sex marriage like much of the AfD party; however, she believes its legalization was a very unimportant issue compared to the country's immigration crisis. In a tweet sent in June of 2017 Weidel tweeted, "[Holding] the 'marriage for all' debate while millions of Muslims illegally immigrate to Germany is a joke!"(Ma 2017).
The AfD's rapid growth since 2013 has given the party potential to gain significantly more power in the future elections, as they managed to gain 87 seats in the Bundestag in 2017. Though polling shows they are down from 16% in September 2019 to 11%, they still have become a formidable opposition party in German politics, with Alice Weidel playing a prominent role in this rise (Politico 2021).
Bibliography
Amann, Melanie, and Becker,Sven. “The New Face Of Afd: How Right-Wing Is Alice Weidel?” DER SPIEGEL. DER SPIEGEL, May 4, 2017. https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/the-new-face-of-afd-how-right-wing-is-aliceweidel-a-1146038.html.
Ma, Alexandra. “Germany's Far-Right Party Surged to Its Best Election Result since the Nazis - Meet Marine Le PEN-LIKE Leader Alice Weidel.” Business Insider. Business Insider, September 25, 2017. https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-afd-alice-weidel-everything-you-need-to-know-2 017-9#her-views-were-not-always-extreme-her-old-friends-say-4.
Politico. “POLITICO Poll of Polls - German Polls, Trends and Election News for Germany.” POLITICO. Accessed September 16, 2021. https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/germany/.
Schumacher, Elizabeth. “Germany's AfD Wants Ban on Wearing a Headscarf In Street.” DW.COM, May 25, 2017. https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-afd-wants-ban-on-wearing-a-headscarf-in-street/a-3901 0637.
Schuster, Kathleen. “AfD's Alice Weidel: The Pride of the Populists, a Mystery to Everyone Else.” DW.COM, April 9, 2017. https://www.dw.com/en/afds-alice-weidel-the-pride-of-the-populists-a-mystery-to-everyoneelse/a-40356769.
Party Platforms
The Christian Democratic (CDU/CSU) Platform
By Cutter Arey
The CDU/CSU party has been extremely successful in keeping power in Germany through most of the 21st century, and they emphasize the stability they have brought to Germany. This helps to distinguish themselves from other parties as they appear more experienced and capable of running the country. Ideologically, the CDU/CSU is slightly to the right on economics, and slightly materialist (TAN) in social issues. Although they are more on the TAN axis, they do not compare to the ultra-materialist and nationalist tendencies of the AFD party, nor do their rightist economic policies go as far as the FDP. The CDU/CSU is the center right party that catches much of the vote.
The economic policy of the CDU/CSU is predominately in favor of small and medium sized businesses and is not focused on reducing wealth inequality like the SPD, Greens, and Left party. The CDU/CSU reject a wealth tax and want to lower the tax burden on individuals and companies. They also want to abolish the EEG surcharge, institute a full basic tax-free allowance for children as a retirement fund for their future and encourage 3.5% of all GDP to be in research and development. The CDU/CSU has the goal of making Germany a financial hub for the world by being an advocate for business interests. They are committed to keeping business in Germany and want to create a common corporate tax base throughout the EU so all businesses are taxed under the same rules when possible.
When it comes to foreign policy, the CDU/CSU is careful. Their priority is economic prosperity within Germany, which means not upsetting the delicate dynamics of trade. They want to counter China but also want to cooperate with them. They want to communicate and foster the relationship with Russia because they heavily rely on their natural gas and are willing to look the other way when it comes to countering authoritarianism. The CDU/CSU strongly supports the NATO alliance and greatly values the military backing of the United States. With that said, the CDU/CSU believes strongly in the idea of a joint European military force, so that Europe is less reliant on American protection. The CDU/CSU is always seeking to strengthen alliances with the United States, and to strengthen the interconnectedness of Europe through the European Union.
Environmental protections in the CDU/CSU platform are heavily influenced by their economic priorities, and this makes them less assertive than other parties (such as the greens and SPD) in the fight against climate change. For the CDU/CSU, they are satisfied with the 2045 climate neutral goal, and have laid the groundwork to accomplish that goal. The CDU/CSU government has shifted a lot of energy to renewables like wind and solar and has pledged to stop the use of coal by 2038. They also would like Germany to be a central rail hub for Europe and increase the amount of electric and clean trains in service through greater infrastructure funding. While they plan on some major changes within Germany to slow climate change, their key weapon against climate change is cooperation with other countries. The CDU/CSU has the view that as a wealthy country, it would be cheaper for Germany to purchase the rights to pollute from other countries, as opposed to disrupting its robust manufacturing industry to reach carbon neutrality.
The Covid-19 Pandemic highlighted the great need for better technological infrastructure, especially when it comes to education. Germany’s education system was drastically unprepared for the Covid Crisis and online education was nonexistent. In light of this, technological infrastructure and access to internet for students has become a major campaign issue. The CDU/CSU stance on this is to advance internet infrastructure through an investment of 15 billion Euros and prioritize school modernization. In addition to modernizing schools, they want to encourage students to pursue careers in math and science to foster innovation and bolster the Vocational Education and Training system. The VET system currently places a half a million Germans in skilled professions annually, so it is a vital tool for industry and for the maintenance of full employment in Germany. In addition to grade school and Vocational training, the CDU is also committed to higher education, and wants to make one of Germany’s educational institutions top 20 in the world.
When it comes to Social issues such as LGBTQ rights, the CDU/CSU doesn’t invalidate the issue, but rather chooses to take a neutral stance on them. They are concerned about the issues but say very little if anything about how they plan on addressing them. In 2017, Merkel shocked the world when she stopped asking the members of the Bundestag to adhere to the party line and told them to vote on the issue of gay marriage with their conscience. Another example is, the CDU/CSU is against universities and administrative bodies from having to use gender sensitive language, but say they are in favor of diversity and support those who do not conform to a gender. Essentially, they can take a neutral stance on these issues by acknowledging the issue, but not promising any changes to address them.
Other social and domestic issues like crime are important to the CDU/CSU, and the party is in favor of greater use of technology in catching criminals. This is something that other parties like the FDP portray as Orwellian. In contrast with the FDP, the CDU/CSU is strongly against the decriminalization of marijuana, confirming their materialistic tendencies.
Overall, the CDU/CSU has good chances at being incorporated in the governing coalition. From the current polling, it appears the SPD will come out on top, but will have to join with two other parties. They will likely team up with the Greens, which leave the left party, FDP, AFD, and CDU/CSU. The FDP is likely too far to the right on the economic spectrum, and the left party would be difficult to form a coalition with because of their stance on NATO. The AFD is not an option for coalition because of their far right radical viewpoints, which would only leave the CDU/CSU for a coalition partner.
Bibliography
Ayoub, Phillip M. “Analysis | Merkel Opposed Marriage Equality - until Now. What Happened?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 18 Apr. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/06/29/merkel-opposed-marriage-equality-until-now-what-happened/.
Deutsche Welle. “Germany's Political Parties - What You Need to KNOW: Dw: 01.03.2021.” DW.COM, www.dw.com/en/cdu-csu-spd-afd-fdp-left-greens/a-38085900.
“Federal Election 2021.” VoteSwiper, www.voteswiper.org/germany/federal-election-2021.
“Germany: Focus on Excellence in Vet through Updated Training Assistance Act (AFBG).” Cedefop, 29 Jan. 2020, www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/news-and-press/news/germany-focus-excellence-vet-through-updated-training-assistance-act-afbg.
Hockenos, Paul. “How Germany's Vocational Education and Training System Works.” Clean Energy Wire, 6 May 2019, www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/how-germanys-vocational-education-and-training-system-works.
Hubbard, Alice, and Eleanore Spies. “A Guide German Party Election PLATFORMS 2021.” AICGS, www.aicgs.org/2021/07/a-guide-german-party-election-platforms-2021/.
Wehrmann, Benjamin. “German Conservatives Have Laid Groundwork for Making COUNTRY Climate Neutral by 2045 - MP.” Clean Energy Wire, 22 Sept. 2021, www.cleanenergywire.org/news/german-conservatives-have-laid-groundwork-making-country-climate-neutral-2045-mp.
By Cutter Arey
The CDU/CSU party has been extremely successful in keeping power in Germany through most of the 21st century, and they emphasize the stability they have brought to Germany. This helps to distinguish themselves from other parties as they appear more experienced and capable of running the country. Ideologically, the CDU/CSU is slightly to the right on economics, and slightly materialist (TAN) in social issues. Although they are more on the TAN axis, they do not compare to the ultra-materialist and nationalist tendencies of the AFD party, nor do their rightist economic policies go as far as the FDP. The CDU/CSU is the center right party that catches much of the vote.
The economic policy of the CDU/CSU is predominately in favor of small and medium sized businesses and is not focused on reducing wealth inequality like the SPD, Greens, and Left party. The CDU/CSU reject a wealth tax and want to lower the tax burden on individuals and companies. They also want to abolish the EEG surcharge, institute a full basic tax-free allowance for children as a retirement fund for their future and encourage 3.5% of all GDP to be in research and development. The CDU/CSU has the goal of making Germany a financial hub for the world by being an advocate for business interests. They are committed to keeping business in Germany and want to create a common corporate tax base throughout the EU so all businesses are taxed under the same rules when possible.
When it comes to foreign policy, the CDU/CSU is careful. Their priority is economic prosperity within Germany, which means not upsetting the delicate dynamics of trade. They want to counter China but also want to cooperate with them. They want to communicate and foster the relationship with Russia because they heavily rely on their natural gas and are willing to look the other way when it comes to countering authoritarianism. The CDU/CSU strongly supports the NATO alliance and greatly values the military backing of the United States. With that said, the CDU/CSU believes strongly in the idea of a joint European military force, so that Europe is less reliant on American protection. The CDU/CSU is always seeking to strengthen alliances with the United States, and to strengthen the interconnectedness of Europe through the European Union.
Environmental protections in the CDU/CSU platform are heavily influenced by their economic priorities, and this makes them less assertive than other parties (such as the greens and SPD) in the fight against climate change. For the CDU/CSU, they are satisfied with the 2045 climate neutral goal, and have laid the groundwork to accomplish that goal. The CDU/CSU government has shifted a lot of energy to renewables like wind and solar and has pledged to stop the use of coal by 2038. They also would like Germany to be a central rail hub for Europe and increase the amount of electric and clean trains in service through greater infrastructure funding. While they plan on some major changes within Germany to slow climate change, their key weapon against climate change is cooperation with other countries. The CDU/CSU has the view that as a wealthy country, it would be cheaper for Germany to purchase the rights to pollute from other countries, as opposed to disrupting its robust manufacturing industry to reach carbon neutrality.
The Covid-19 Pandemic highlighted the great need for better technological infrastructure, especially when it comes to education. Germany’s education system was drastically unprepared for the Covid Crisis and online education was nonexistent. In light of this, technological infrastructure and access to internet for students has become a major campaign issue. The CDU/CSU stance on this is to advance internet infrastructure through an investment of 15 billion Euros and prioritize school modernization. In addition to modernizing schools, they want to encourage students to pursue careers in math and science to foster innovation and bolster the Vocational Education and Training system. The VET system currently places a half a million Germans in skilled professions annually, so it is a vital tool for industry and for the maintenance of full employment in Germany. In addition to grade school and Vocational training, the CDU is also committed to higher education, and wants to make one of Germany’s educational institutions top 20 in the world.
When it comes to Social issues such as LGBTQ rights, the CDU/CSU doesn’t invalidate the issue, but rather chooses to take a neutral stance on them. They are concerned about the issues but say very little if anything about how they plan on addressing them. In 2017, Merkel shocked the world when she stopped asking the members of the Bundestag to adhere to the party line and told them to vote on the issue of gay marriage with their conscience. Another example is, the CDU/CSU is against universities and administrative bodies from having to use gender sensitive language, but say they are in favor of diversity and support those who do not conform to a gender. Essentially, they can take a neutral stance on these issues by acknowledging the issue, but not promising any changes to address them.
Other social and domestic issues like crime are important to the CDU/CSU, and the party is in favor of greater use of technology in catching criminals. This is something that other parties like the FDP portray as Orwellian. In contrast with the FDP, the CDU/CSU is strongly against the decriminalization of marijuana, confirming their materialistic tendencies.
Overall, the CDU/CSU has good chances at being incorporated in the governing coalition. From the current polling, it appears the SPD will come out on top, but will have to join with two other parties. They will likely team up with the Greens, which leave the left party, FDP, AFD, and CDU/CSU. The FDP is likely too far to the right on the economic spectrum, and the left party would be difficult to form a coalition with because of their stance on NATO. The AFD is not an option for coalition because of their far right radical viewpoints, which would only leave the CDU/CSU for a coalition partner.
Bibliography
Ayoub, Phillip M. “Analysis | Merkel Opposed Marriage Equality - until Now. What Happened?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 18 Apr. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/06/29/merkel-opposed-marriage-equality-until-now-what-happened/.
Deutsche Welle. “Germany's Political Parties - What You Need to KNOW: Dw: 01.03.2021.” DW.COM, www.dw.com/en/cdu-csu-spd-afd-fdp-left-greens/a-38085900.
“Federal Election 2021.” VoteSwiper, www.voteswiper.org/germany/federal-election-2021.
“Germany: Focus on Excellence in Vet through Updated Training Assistance Act (AFBG).” Cedefop, 29 Jan. 2020, www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/news-and-press/news/germany-focus-excellence-vet-through-updated-training-assistance-act-afbg.
Hockenos, Paul. “How Germany's Vocational Education and Training System Works.” Clean Energy Wire, 6 May 2019, www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/how-germanys-vocational-education-and-training-system-works.
Hubbard, Alice, and Eleanore Spies. “A Guide German Party Election PLATFORMS 2021.” AICGS, www.aicgs.org/2021/07/a-guide-german-party-election-platforms-2021/.
Wehrmann, Benjamin. “German Conservatives Have Laid Groundwork for Making COUNTRY Climate Neutral by 2045 - MP.” Clean Energy Wire, 22 Sept. 2021, www.cleanenergywire.org/news/german-conservatives-have-laid-groundwork-making-country-climate-neutral-2045-mp.
The Social Democratic Party
By Benjamin Gygi
The German Social Democratic Party outlines a moderate to left-wing economic ideology in its 2021 election manifesto along with some Green/Alternative/Libertarian social and foreign policy preferences. While the SPD has, throughout its long history, occasionally embraced radical leftist economic stances, the party has customarily campaigned on the center-left during modern German political history and has behaved as an umbrella party for those on the left wing of Germany’s political spectrum. Their party platform for the upcoming election marks a continuation of this approach.
While the party occasionally campaigns on some social or foreign policy issues, the party emphasizes their economic stances to a much greater extent. In line with a consistently center-left ideology, the SPD claims its economic stances provide “respect” to German workers and citizens across the economic spectrum (SPD Platform, 2021). This marketing phraseology likely seeks to attract middle- and working-class voters without completely alienating older, and potentially more conservative, Germans who have long held allegiance to the SPD, but who are unmoved by radical social and economically extreme positions.
The party campaigns on raising the minimum wage from just over nine Euros per hour to twelve Euros per hour. This position places the SPD to the left of all of the economically right-wing parties in Germany, most notably their most prominent rival the CDU/CSU, who do not seek to adjust the established minimum wage (Hubbard and Spies, 2021). The SPD remains to the immediate right of the Left Party on this issue, who campaign on a slightly higher minimum wage hike. With regard to housing measures, the SPD advocates building 400,000 new homes per year, an increase over current building rates and government commitments, a quarter of which to be paid for using public funds, and the introduction of some rent caps where needed (SPD Platform, 2021). This again positions the party to the left of the CDU/CSU, who plan on building slightly fewer new homes and do not support rent restrictions (Party Programs, 2021), but to the right of the Left Party which supports even more subsidization for housing construction and the introduction of stricter rent caps. The Social Democrats claim they will institute a new fund for children, guarantee “traineeships” for all adolescents, and increase public funding for higher education (SPD Platform, 2021). While most of the establishment political parties in Germany support investment for children’s welfare funds and new education programs, the SPD’s endorsement of significantly increased state investment and involvement in these areas places it, again, on the center-left of German politics (Hubbard and Spies, 2021). The SPD advocates maintaining the current retirement age and replacing the Hartz IV welfare system with a more generous program, though the details of this new program remain vague (SPD Platform, 2021). The party broadly supports legislation that improves working conditions and the reinstitution of some wealth and inheritances taxes for wealthy Germans (Hubbard and Spies, 2021). They also plan on making the federal income tax more progressive (Party Programs, 2021).
Social policies are largely not featured on the SPD’s English version platform and are not a large part of their campaign strategy. The party does advocate for increased funding for climate protection, but the SPD still frames climate policy as an economic issue as much as a part of a social agenda. The official manifesto, for example, claims that investment in climate protection is “ big [economic] opportunity” that will create “lots of good, secure jobs” (SPD Platform, 2021). Though not a focal point of their campaign messaging or official platforms, the SPD supports non-traditional families in their ability to adopt and promotes measures that better ensure gender equality within government and the workplace (Hubbard and Spies, 2021). The SPD’s foreign policy and immigration stances are also overshadowed by their economic priorities, but the party’s platform could be considered nominally Green/Alternative/Libertarian (as opposed to Traditional/Authoritarian/Nationalist), though the SPD would likely prefer not to be placed in either camp. They support policies that assist migrants in integrating into the German economy and oppose further restrictions to immigration (Party Programs, 2021). The SPD also supports “Strengthen[ing] a united Europe,” are generally pro-NATO, and typically promote free trade (Hubbard and Spies, 2021). Their stances pertaining to how to address potential conflicts with Russia and China are often vague. The party is more interested in peaceful cooperation with Russia than the CDU/CSU and while they condemn some of China’s human rights violations, they are less critical of the Xi regime than the Greens (Party Programs, 2021).
The SPD’s umbrella platform, as well as their Chancellor candidate’s ability to draw comparisons with current Chancellor Merkel, has put them in a leading position just a week before the federal elections. As an establishment party, the SPD generally does well in constituency votes, and, if current polls are reliable, they may win a plurality in the party vote. If they can manage to stay ahead of the CDU/CSU in the final days before the vote, they are very likely to be included in, and perhaps lead, a governing coalition. Given an opportunity to form a government themselves, the SPD will most likely first invite the Greens to join their coalition (Schuetze and Bennhold, 2021). The Green party platform, while significantly more socially libertarian and climate change oriented than that of the Social Democrats, is relatively economically compatible with the SPD’s priorities. Olaf Scholz, the SPD’s Chancellor candidate, formed a coalition with the Greens as Mayor of Hamburg, and will likely do so again. Surprisingly, the SPD has not ruled out forming a government with the Left Party, though Scholz has distanced himself from the party in the past (Kraemer and Carrel, 2021). While the prospect of a left-wing government with the SPD, Greens, and Die Linke would likely be more leftist than the SPD would hope, if the SPD and the Greens do not have enough seats to govern outright, the SPD will need to choose between either that or teaming up with the FDP (Kraemer and Carrel, 2021).
Bibliography:
“German election: The party programs.” Deutche Welle, September 9, 2021.
Hubbard, Alice and Spies, Eleanore. “A Guide German Party Election Platforms 2021.” American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, July 22, 2021.
Kraemer, Christian and Carrel, Paul. “German far left courts SPD and Greens for three-way coalition.” Reuters, September 6, 2021.
SPD. 2021. “Programm - Englisch.”
By Benjamin Gygi
The German Social Democratic Party outlines a moderate to left-wing economic ideology in its 2021 election manifesto along with some Green/Alternative/Libertarian social and foreign policy preferences. While the SPD has, throughout its long history, occasionally embraced radical leftist economic stances, the party has customarily campaigned on the center-left during modern German political history and has behaved as an umbrella party for those on the left wing of Germany’s political spectrum. Their party platform for the upcoming election marks a continuation of this approach.
While the party occasionally campaigns on some social or foreign policy issues, the party emphasizes their economic stances to a much greater extent. In line with a consistently center-left ideology, the SPD claims its economic stances provide “respect” to German workers and citizens across the economic spectrum (SPD Platform, 2021). This marketing phraseology likely seeks to attract middle- and working-class voters without completely alienating older, and potentially more conservative, Germans who have long held allegiance to the SPD, but who are unmoved by radical social and economically extreme positions.
The party campaigns on raising the minimum wage from just over nine Euros per hour to twelve Euros per hour. This position places the SPD to the left of all of the economically right-wing parties in Germany, most notably their most prominent rival the CDU/CSU, who do not seek to adjust the established minimum wage (Hubbard and Spies, 2021). The SPD remains to the immediate right of the Left Party on this issue, who campaign on a slightly higher minimum wage hike. With regard to housing measures, the SPD advocates building 400,000 new homes per year, an increase over current building rates and government commitments, a quarter of which to be paid for using public funds, and the introduction of some rent caps where needed (SPD Platform, 2021). This again positions the party to the left of the CDU/CSU, who plan on building slightly fewer new homes and do not support rent restrictions (Party Programs, 2021), but to the right of the Left Party which supports even more subsidization for housing construction and the introduction of stricter rent caps. The Social Democrats claim they will institute a new fund for children, guarantee “traineeships” for all adolescents, and increase public funding for higher education (SPD Platform, 2021). While most of the establishment political parties in Germany support investment for children’s welfare funds and new education programs, the SPD’s endorsement of significantly increased state investment and involvement in these areas places it, again, on the center-left of German politics (Hubbard and Spies, 2021). The SPD advocates maintaining the current retirement age and replacing the Hartz IV welfare system with a more generous program, though the details of this new program remain vague (SPD Platform, 2021). The party broadly supports legislation that improves working conditions and the reinstitution of some wealth and inheritances taxes for wealthy Germans (Hubbard and Spies, 2021). They also plan on making the federal income tax more progressive (Party Programs, 2021).
Social policies are largely not featured on the SPD’s English version platform and are not a large part of their campaign strategy. The party does advocate for increased funding for climate protection, but the SPD still frames climate policy as an economic issue as much as a part of a social agenda. The official manifesto, for example, claims that investment in climate protection is “ big [economic] opportunity” that will create “lots of good, secure jobs” (SPD Platform, 2021). Though not a focal point of their campaign messaging or official platforms, the SPD supports non-traditional families in their ability to adopt and promotes measures that better ensure gender equality within government and the workplace (Hubbard and Spies, 2021). The SPD’s foreign policy and immigration stances are also overshadowed by their economic priorities, but the party’s platform could be considered nominally Green/Alternative/Libertarian (as opposed to Traditional/Authoritarian/Nationalist), though the SPD would likely prefer not to be placed in either camp. They support policies that assist migrants in integrating into the German economy and oppose further restrictions to immigration (Party Programs, 2021). The SPD also supports “Strengthen[ing] a united Europe,” are generally pro-NATO, and typically promote free trade (Hubbard and Spies, 2021). Their stances pertaining to how to address potential conflicts with Russia and China are often vague. The party is more interested in peaceful cooperation with Russia than the CDU/CSU and while they condemn some of China’s human rights violations, they are less critical of the Xi regime than the Greens (Party Programs, 2021).
The SPD’s umbrella platform, as well as their Chancellor candidate’s ability to draw comparisons with current Chancellor Merkel, has put them in a leading position just a week before the federal elections. As an establishment party, the SPD generally does well in constituency votes, and, if current polls are reliable, they may win a plurality in the party vote. If they can manage to stay ahead of the CDU/CSU in the final days before the vote, they are very likely to be included in, and perhaps lead, a governing coalition. Given an opportunity to form a government themselves, the SPD will most likely first invite the Greens to join their coalition (Schuetze and Bennhold, 2021). The Green party platform, while significantly more socially libertarian and climate change oriented than that of the Social Democrats, is relatively economically compatible with the SPD’s priorities. Olaf Scholz, the SPD’s Chancellor candidate, formed a coalition with the Greens as Mayor of Hamburg, and will likely do so again. Surprisingly, the SPD has not ruled out forming a government with the Left Party, though Scholz has distanced himself from the party in the past (Kraemer and Carrel, 2021). While the prospect of a left-wing government with the SPD, Greens, and Die Linke would likely be more leftist than the SPD would hope, if the SPD and the Greens do not have enough seats to govern outright, the SPD will need to choose between either that or teaming up with the FDP (Kraemer and Carrel, 2021).
Bibliography:
“German election: The party programs.” Deutche Welle, September 9, 2021.
Hubbard, Alice and Spies, Eleanore. “A Guide German Party Election Platforms 2021.” American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, July 22, 2021.
Kraemer, Christian and Carrel, Paul. “German far left courts SPD and Greens for three-way coalition.” Reuters, September 6, 2021.
SPD. 2021. “Programm - Englisch.”
The Left Party Platform
By Pasqualina Sagarese
The Left Party, also known as Die Linke in German, is a democratic socialist political party in Germany, currently in the lowest rank of all major parties in the second vote. The party was founded after the Party of Democratic Socialism and the Labor and Social justice Party merged in 2007.
One of the Left’s most polarizing issues is their intent to replace NATO, and instead create a collective security system that would include Russia. In fact, the SPD have said that although they are looking to form a coalition with the Greens and The Left, they do not foresee that they will ever come to agreement on this topic, and The Left has agreed, saying that there are other foreign policy matters besides NATO they are willing to work on. The Left is also the only party that wants to end all foreign deployment of the German army. The Left defends their stance on this issue by saying that democracy cannot exist in a world of war and imperialism that deprives countries of “hope and a better future” and where “profit rules above all else”(DIE LINKE).
The Left’s position on social issues would classify far up on the GAL scale, as they focus tremendously on social issues and environmental issues. In fact, the party stresses that they want to “overcome all social relationships in which people are exploited” (DIE LINKE). The Left’s position on immigration is that no person should be deported, especially those who fear being persecuted due to war or fear discrimination in their home country. The Left states that Germany is one of the richest countries and has an obligation, due to its history and financial stability, to help people who seek asylum in Germany. They also want non-EU citizens to have residence and work permits without the need for a specific duration of employment. The Left party focuses heavily on the healthcare industry, and wants an increase of 200,000+ nurses in hospitals to meet demand, especially due to COVID-19. They also want to increase basic pay for employees and for hospitals and care facilities to be of public ownership. The Left focuses on public transportation on being free, and wants to create more sustainable public transportation as well. They also support the ban on domestic flights. The Left’s position on climate focuses on increasing and improving renewable energy. They want to get rid of coal entirely by 2030 and be completely carbon-neutral by 2035, however their only real plan is through their transportation plans. The Left also supports an increase in shelters for the homeless, particularly LGBTQ+ youth. They also want advertising abortion to be legal, and for sexual education to be taught in schools. The Left does not, however, specify how they will reach their goal on all of these issues.
The Left’s main positions on economic issues lean towards the left, in fact their party’s website says they want to “ build a society of democratic socialism”, therefore they tend to stray away from capitalist economic policies and seek to create economic equity among German citizens through policy. The Left seeks to create equity first through taxes, particularly a wealth tax using a progressive rate. For people who make over 1 million euros, their proposed tax rate is 75% of income. They also specify that this money should go towards schools and infrastructure. One of the Left’s biggest economic goals is to create a minimum wage of 13 Euros, they also call
this a living wage. The Left reiterated throughout their campaign that they want to fight poverty, and in one of their campaign signs also argued that better wages create better workers. The party also wants to propose a 4 day work week with 30 hours of work as the new norm in the workplace. The party also wants to stabilize employment by abolishing temporary employment. Lining up with their democratic socialist ideals, the party wants to transform the healthcare system to become egalitarian: where everyone is guaranteed the same quality health care. They propose that 12% of every citizen’s income go towards this new system. Another major economic proposal is a rent cap based on the Berlin model. The party also wants to create new affordable housing by building 250,000 homes per year. They also want to promote social housing construction and want to set a 15 billion Euro budget for it. Finally, the last major economic issue The Left addresses are pensions. They want to create a minimum pension of 1200 Euros. They also want to lower the retirement age to 65. Due to these positions on economic issues, The Left party would be considered to be on the far left economic spectrum.
Recently, The Left party reached out to the SPD and Greens to become coalition partners. The Left argues that it is the party's best chance to reach their social goals. The SPD is now in a clear lead with 26%, the Greens have 15.5% and the Left have 6.5% (McClure). The SPD’ Olaf Scholz publicly stated he did want to work with the Greens, however they would need another party to reach a majority. The Left could put them closer to a majority with the current poll numbers, reaching 48% of the parliament. The other choice the SPD has is to align themselves with the FDP, however the FDP seems to be leaning towards a more right wing coalition. This SPD-Green-Left coalition seems unlikely because of Scholz’s past distancing from the Left due to their stance on leaving NATO. However, the Left said that they can provide the SPD and Greens with their best chance of delivering social issue pledges, like minimum wage, tax increases on the rich, and increasing renewable energy. This seems to be the most realistic coalition for The Left, however it would mean that their stance on NATO would need to change or be put off until the next election. If the Left is not included in a coalition, they will likely end up with 6% of the vote meaning that they would have very little power in the Parliament.
References
Goldenberg, R. (n.d.). The Left Party's anti-military Unique Selling Point: DW: 16.08.2021. DW.COM. Retrieved September 15, 2021, from
https://www.dw.com/en/the-left-partys-anti-military-unique-selling-point/a-58878850.
Kraemer, C. (2021, September 6). German far left courts SPD and Greens for three-way coalition. Reuters. Retrieved September 22, 2021, from https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-far-left-courts-spd-greens-three-way-coalition-2021-09-06/.
McClure, J. (n.d.). German election: The latest polls. Reuters. Retrieved September 22, 2021, from https://graphics.reuters.com/GERMANY-ELECTION/POLLS/jnpweekxypw/.
Romaniec, R. (n.d.). Janine Wissler: 'the German government is putting lives at risk in Afghanistan': DW: 23.08.2021. DW.COM. Retrieved September 15, 2021, from https://www.dw.com/en/janine-wissler-the-german-government-is-putting-lives-at-risk-in
-afghanistan/a-58953912.
Welcome. DIE LINKE. English pages. (n.d.). Retrieved September 22, 2021, from https://en.die-linke.de/welcome/.
By Pasqualina Sagarese
The Left Party, also known as Die Linke in German, is a democratic socialist political party in Germany, currently in the lowest rank of all major parties in the second vote. The party was founded after the Party of Democratic Socialism and the Labor and Social justice Party merged in 2007.
One of the Left’s most polarizing issues is their intent to replace NATO, and instead create a collective security system that would include Russia. In fact, the SPD have said that although they are looking to form a coalition with the Greens and The Left, they do not foresee that they will ever come to agreement on this topic, and The Left has agreed, saying that there are other foreign policy matters besides NATO they are willing to work on. The Left is also the only party that wants to end all foreign deployment of the German army. The Left defends their stance on this issue by saying that democracy cannot exist in a world of war and imperialism that deprives countries of “hope and a better future” and where “profit rules above all else”(DIE LINKE).
The Left’s position on social issues would classify far up on the GAL scale, as they focus tremendously on social issues and environmental issues. In fact, the party stresses that they want to “overcome all social relationships in which people are exploited” (DIE LINKE). The Left’s position on immigration is that no person should be deported, especially those who fear being persecuted due to war or fear discrimination in their home country. The Left states that Germany is one of the richest countries and has an obligation, due to its history and financial stability, to help people who seek asylum in Germany. They also want non-EU citizens to have residence and work permits without the need for a specific duration of employment. The Left party focuses heavily on the healthcare industry, and wants an increase of 200,000+ nurses in hospitals to meet demand, especially due to COVID-19. They also want to increase basic pay for employees and for hospitals and care facilities to be of public ownership. The Left focuses on public transportation on being free, and wants to create more sustainable public transportation as well. They also support the ban on domestic flights. The Left’s position on climate focuses on increasing and improving renewable energy. They want to get rid of coal entirely by 2030 and be completely carbon-neutral by 2035, however their only real plan is through their transportation plans. The Left also supports an increase in shelters for the homeless, particularly LGBTQ+ youth. They also want advertising abortion to be legal, and for sexual education to be taught in schools. The Left does not, however, specify how they will reach their goal on all of these issues.
The Left’s main positions on economic issues lean towards the left, in fact their party’s website says they want to “ build a society of democratic socialism”, therefore they tend to stray away from capitalist economic policies and seek to create economic equity among German citizens through policy. The Left seeks to create equity first through taxes, particularly a wealth tax using a progressive rate. For people who make over 1 million euros, their proposed tax rate is 75% of income. They also specify that this money should go towards schools and infrastructure. One of the Left’s biggest economic goals is to create a minimum wage of 13 Euros, they also call
this a living wage. The Left reiterated throughout their campaign that they want to fight poverty, and in one of their campaign signs also argued that better wages create better workers. The party also wants to propose a 4 day work week with 30 hours of work as the new norm in the workplace. The party also wants to stabilize employment by abolishing temporary employment. Lining up with their democratic socialist ideals, the party wants to transform the healthcare system to become egalitarian: where everyone is guaranteed the same quality health care. They propose that 12% of every citizen’s income go towards this new system. Another major economic proposal is a rent cap based on the Berlin model. The party also wants to create new affordable housing by building 250,000 homes per year. They also want to promote social housing construction and want to set a 15 billion Euro budget for it. Finally, the last major economic issue The Left addresses are pensions. They want to create a minimum pension of 1200 Euros. They also want to lower the retirement age to 65. Due to these positions on economic issues, The Left party would be considered to be on the far left economic spectrum.
Recently, The Left party reached out to the SPD and Greens to become coalition partners. The Left argues that it is the party's best chance to reach their social goals. The SPD is now in a clear lead with 26%, the Greens have 15.5% and the Left have 6.5% (McClure). The SPD’ Olaf Scholz publicly stated he did want to work with the Greens, however they would need another party to reach a majority. The Left could put them closer to a majority with the current poll numbers, reaching 48% of the parliament. The other choice the SPD has is to align themselves with the FDP, however the FDP seems to be leaning towards a more right wing coalition. This SPD-Green-Left coalition seems unlikely because of Scholz’s past distancing from the Left due to their stance on leaving NATO. However, the Left said that they can provide the SPD and Greens with their best chance of delivering social issue pledges, like minimum wage, tax increases on the rich, and increasing renewable energy. This seems to be the most realistic coalition for The Left, however it would mean that their stance on NATO would need to change or be put off until the next election. If the Left is not included in a coalition, they will likely end up with 6% of the vote meaning that they would have very little power in the Parliament.
References
Goldenberg, R. (n.d.). The Left Party's anti-military Unique Selling Point: DW: 16.08.2021. DW.COM. Retrieved September 15, 2021, from
https://www.dw.com/en/the-left-partys-anti-military-unique-selling-point/a-58878850.
Kraemer, C. (2021, September 6). German far left courts SPD and Greens for three-way coalition. Reuters. Retrieved September 22, 2021, from https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-far-left-courts-spd-greens-three-way-coalition-2021-09-06/.
McClure, J. (n.d.). German election: The latest polls. Reuters. Retrieved September 22, 2021, from https://graphics.reuters.com/GERMANY-ELECTION/POLLS/jnpweekxypw/.
Romaniec, R. (n.d.). Janine Wissler: 'the German government is putting lives at risk in Afghanistan': DW: 23.08.2021. DW.COM. Retrieved September 15, 2021, from https://www.dw.com/en/janine-wissler-the-german-government-is-putting-lives-at-risk-in
-afghanistan/a-58953912.
Welcome. DIE LINKE. English pages. (n.d.). Retrieved September 22, 2021, from https://en.die-linke.de/welcome/.
The Free Democratic (FDP) Party Platform
By Selena
The Free Democratic Party is a classical liberal party that has always emphasized free markets, civil liberties, and democratic rights. It is traditionally ideologically somewhere between the CDU/CSU and the SPD. Its core clientele has been urban professionals, entrepreneurs, and small business parties. It has never aspired to become a catchall party. Traditionally, the FDP has maintained ideological flexibility and has been open to different coalition options. For the 2021 election, the FDP ideologically is to the right economically and more towards Green/Alternative/Libertarian (or post-materialist) socially.
Because of the rightest mentality economically, the FDP 2021 platform has a strong emphasis on economics. Specifically, the platform focuses heavily on modernization and digitization of the German government. They believe modernization and digitization will make the government more efficient and fix any underlying issues. For example, although the FDP is for a hands-off government, they do want to focus heavily on education reforms. The pandemic revealed how weak the digital infrastructure was in schooling. Therefore, they want to invest in the education system and create a centralized schooling system throughout Germany. A centralized system will ensure the highest quality education everywhere and help create a more unified and competitive global economy. They want to get rid of any red tape and government intervention in the economy that will slow down innovation. Regarding the issue of the housing shortages and rising rents, the FDP believes that it is due to too much government regulation. They do not feel the need for a rent cap and feel that higher prices will encourage more infrastructure to be made. The FDP also wants to restore the balance between the private sector and the state without giving up a serious budgetary policy. They call for noticeably relieving the citizens of taxes. In terms of addressing the environmental issues, the FDP is against moving towards government subsidizing renewable energy. Just like the solution to other problems, they believe that the government should let business, entrepreneurs, and the market to create methods of renewable energy.
When looking at the social issues on the FDP’s platform they have clearly stated that they favor rights, liberties, and freedoms regardless of sex, religion, race, country origin etc. They are in favor of equal pay and opportunities for women. They also are highly in favor of LGBTQ rights. Specifically, they want to make it easier for transgender individuals to legally change their gender and give access to reproduction rights to all. They also want to permit adoption rights for unmarried couples as well. When looking at foreign policy, they are pro-integration and support the European Union. They are interested in cybercrime and do not want the government to be able to spy on citizens. They want to increase spending for digital tools for local governments and law enforcements. Regarding immigration, they want to follow the “Canadian Model” by allowing skilled workers to enter the country. But they do recognize that human rights are important so they will allow refugees to enter during times of war.
Compared to the other major parties, the most distinctive issue for the FDP comes with modernization and digitalization. Much of their policy and reforms involve technological improvement to increase innovation and efficiency. Another area distinct for the FDP is the section on reforms to Germany’s political system. Currently, in Germany it is required to have elections every 4 years. The FDP wants to change it to every 5 years and put a cap at 10 years max for any chancellor. They also want to reduce the size of the Bundestag and change the voting age to 16.
It is not probable that the FDP will win the chancellor position. Throughout history, the FDP has never received more than 15% of the vote and it is likely it will not exceed that this election. However, the party does have the reputation known as the “Kingmaker” or pivot party. In the last 72 years, the FDP has been in German cabinet for 45 years. Due to this, there is a high possibility of the FDP joining a coalition. Currently, the FDP, the Greens and the SPD all govern together in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The FDP has indicated a readiness to join forces with the CSU or SPD and even the Greens. During an interview Christian Lindner stated that he expected Armin Laschet, the CDU leader, to be Germany’s next chancellor and Laschet himself made clear his preference for a coalition with the FDP.
It is very probable that this years coalition will have to consist of three different parties. Based on the polls there are two main plausible coalitions. The first being the left leaning SPD led “traffic light” coalition with the Greens and the FDP. A major issue with the potential “traffic light” coalition comes with regards to tax cuts. Both the Greens and the SPD have made it evident that they want to increase income tax whereas the FDP has made it clear they will not join a coalition government that wants to increase taxes. The second being the “Jamaica” coalition with the CDU/CSU, the Greens, and the FDP. Currently it is predicted that the FDP will get somewhere around 11% of the vote share in the Bundestag. It will be interesting to see how this election will play out now that the SPD has taken the lead over the CDU/CSU.
Bibliography
“German Voters Face a Bewildering Array of Possible Coalitions.” The Economist.
Deutsche Welle. “Germany's Kingmaker, the FDP, Is Preparing to Return: DW: 06.09.2021.” DW.COM.
Gehrke, Laurenz. “German Liberals Rise from Dead (Again).” POLITICO. POLITICO, March 4, 2021.
Zitelmann, Rainer. “Tactical Takeover: Germany's Liberals Are Ready to Run the Country.” The National Interest. The Center for the National Interest, September 17, 2021.
By Selena
The Free Democratic Party is a classical liberal party that has always emphasized free markets, civil liberties, and democratic rights. It is traditionally ideologically somewhere between the CDU/CSU and the SPD. Its core clientele has been urban professionals, entrepreneurs, and small business parties. It has never aspired to become a catchall party. Traditionally, the FDP has maintained ideological flexibility and has been open to different coalition options. For the 2021 election, the FDP ideologically is to the right economically and more towards Green/Alternative/Libertarian (or post-materialist) socially.
Because of the rightest mentality economically, the FDP 2021 platform has a strong emphasis on economics. Specifically, the platform focuses heavily on modernization and digitization of the German government. They believe modernization and digitization will make the government more efficient and fix any underlying issues. For example, although the FDP is for a hands-off government, they do want to focus heavily on education reforms. The pandemic revealed how weak the digital infrastructure was in schooling. Therefore, they want to invest in the education system and create a centralized schooling system throughout Germany. A centralized system will ensure the highest quality education everywhere and help create a more unified and competitive global economy. They want to get rid of any red tape and government intervention in the economy that will slow down innovation. Regarding the issue of the housing shortages and rising rents, the FDP believes that it is due to too much government regulation. They do not feel the need for a rent cap and feel that higher prices will encourage more infrastructure to be made. The FDP also wants to restore the balance between the private sector and the state without giving up a serious budgetary policy. They call for noticeably relieving the citizens of taxes. In terms of addressing the environmental issues, the FDP is against moving towards government subsidizing renewable energy. Just like the solution to other problems, they believe that the government should let business, entrepreneurs, and the market to create methods of renewable energy.
When looking at the social issues on the FDP’s platform they have clearly stated that they favor rights, liberties, and freedoms regardless of sex, religion, race, country origin etc. They are in favor of equal pay and opportunities for women. They also are highly in favor of LGBTQ rights. Specifically, they want to make it easier for transgender individuals to legally change their gender and give access to reproduction rights to all. They also want to permit adoption rights for unmarried couples as well. When looking at foreign policy, they are pro-integration and support the European Union. They are interested in cybercrime and do not want the government to be able to spy on citizens. They want to increase spending for digital tools for local governments and law enforcements. Regarding immigration, they want to follow the “Canadian Model” by allowing skilled workers to enter the country. But they do recognize that human rights are important so they will allow refugees to enter during times of war.
Compared to the other major parties, the most distinctive issue for the FDP comes with modernization and digitalization. Much of their policy and reforms involve technological improvement to increase innovation and efficiency. Another area distinct for the FDP is the section on reforms to Germany’s political system. Currently, in Germany it is required to have elections every 4 years. The FDP wants to change it to every 5 years and put a cap at 10 years max for any chancellor. They also want to reduce the size of the Bundestag and change the voting age to 16.
It is not probable that the FDP will win the chancellor position. Throughout history, the FDP has never received more than 15% of the vote and it is likely it will not exceed that this election. However, the party does have the reputation known as the “Kingmaker” or pivot party. In the last 72 years, the FDP has been in German cabinet for 45 years. Due to this, there is a high possibility of the FDP joining a coalition. Currently, the FDP, the Greens and the SPD all govern together in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The FDP has indicated a readiness to join forces with the CSU or SPD and even the Greens. During an interview Christian Lindner stated that he expected Armin Laschet, the CDU leader, to be Germany’s next chancellor and Laschet himself made clear his preference for a coalition with the FDP.
It is very probable that this years coalition will have to consist of three different parties. Based on the polls there are two main plausible coalitions. The first being the left leaning SPD led “traffic light” coalition with the Greens and the FDP. A major issue with the potential “traffic light” coalition comes with regards to tax cuts. Both the Greens and the SPD have made it evident that they want to increase income tax whereas the FDP has made it clear they will not join a coalition government that wants to increase taxes. The second being the “Jamaica” coalition with the CDU/CSU, the Greens, and the FDP. Currently it is predicted that the FDP will get somewhere around 11% of the vote share in the Bundestag. It will be interesting to see how this election will play out now that the SPD has taken the lead over the CDU/CSU.
Bibliography
“German Voters Face a Bewildering Array of Possible Coalitions.” The Economist.
Deutsche Welle. “Germany's Kingmaker, the FDP, Is Preparing to Return: DW: 06.09.2021.” DW.COM.
Gehrke, Laurenz. “German Liberals Rise from Dead (Again).” POLITICO. POLITICO, March 4, 2021.
Zitelmann, Rainer. “Tactical Takeover: Germany's Liberals Are Ready to Run the Country.” The National Interest. The Center for the National Interest, September 17, 2021.
The Greens' Election Platform
By Pau Juncadella Guerrero
The Greens are facing possibly the most important federal election to date for their political party, led by Annalena Baerbock as the candidate to become the new Chancellor of Germany after the retirement of Angela Merkel. In the last federal elections of 2017 the Greens won a total of 67 seats out of a possible 709 seats in the Bundestag, they won 4 seats more than in the 2013 elections. Furthermore in the European Parliament elections that took place in 2019 they won a total of 21 seats out of the 96 possible seats, winning 10 seats more than in the 2014 elections. The Greens put forward an ambitious electoral program for the 2021 elections that will take place on Sunday, September 26, this program is marked above all by ambition in the fight against climate change.
The electoral program presented by the Greens to the elections of 2021 is mainly focused on reducing climate change by exercising an ecological and sustainable character for the future of Germany and the Planet. That is why, compared to the other political parties running in the German federal elections, the Greens distinguish themselves by focusing their electoral program on the environment and climate change rather than on the economy or foreign policy (also important points in their electoral program).
The most important points of the Greens' election program are: the creation of a ministry for climate protection with veto power, an immediate climate protection program, phasing out coal by 2030, returning CO2 revenues to the people as a per capita lump sum, systematically including climate protection in our legal system, installing 5 million new solar roofs in the next four years, additional investments of 50. 50 billion per year in socio-ecological transformation, a speed limit of 130 km/h on highways, that federal states set aside 2% of their territory for wind energy.
On the economic and international side, the Greens raise these points: Klimaverträge (Carbon Contract for Difference), all investments must have a sustainability assessment that is transparent for all investors, they want the European Central Bank (ECB) to create a digital euro, immediately increase the legal minimum wage to 12 euros, convert unemployment insurance into occupational health insurance, equal pay law to close the wage gap between men and women. Regarding their relations with China they call for an end to their human rights violations, accordingly The European Supply Chain Act should deny access to the internal market for products derived from forced labor. Compliance with sustainable product standards and a transparent roadmap to combat the climate crisis, e.g. by phasing out coal in China. Unification with Taiwan should not be forced against the will of the people of Taiwan. Regarding Russia they call for strengthening if necessary the sanctions imposed on Russia for the annexation of Crimea contrary to international law and the military action against Ukraine as well as stopping the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. In the Global South they demand a debt restructuring and also debt cancellation.
After an analysis of the most important points proposed by the Greens in the economic field for the 2021 elections, the Greens classify themselves as a center-left party in the economic field. In the social field they seek an improvement of the minimum wage as well as improving occupational health and integrating women by breaking the wage gap still existing in Germany. Their position regarding China and Russia is clear and firm, they intend to fight against the abuse of human rights and forced labor as well as seek that these countries meet the standards of sustainable products, climate change etc ... That is why after analyzing the electoral program of the Greens, this political party would be classified as Green/Alternative/Libertarian also called GAL or post-materialist.
The real possibilities of this party in the second ballot are difficult since its biggest rivals are CDU/CSU and SPD which are the two biggest parties in Germany, they have a great support especially by the more adult people of the German population, while The Greens are mostly supported by young people. On the other hand, the three political parties FDP, Die Linke and AfD have less popularity than The Greens, according to the latest polls The Greens are placed as the third power to win the federal elections this September 26th. Despite being the third power in the elections, the Greens have a high probability of being part of Germany's new government, as there is likely to be a coalition government. There are three real options for the Greens to be part of the new government: the coalition between CDU/CSU and the Greens, SPD and the Greens and finally the grand coalition between the Greens, FDP, Die Linke and AfD. Despite these possible coalitions, nothing is written with certainty since we will not know the real results until September 26, 2021. In addition, if finally after the elections it is necessary to create a coalition government with the Greens in it, they will have to negotiate and seek their objectives, which are focused on the fight against climate change and the improvement of the environment.
Bibliography:
July 22, 2021. Alice Hubbard and Eleanore Spies. “A Guide German Party Election Platforms 2021”. American Institute for Contemporary German Studies. https://www.aicgs.org/2021/07/a-guide-german-party-election-platforms-2021/
August 3, 2021. Enrique Müller. “Los Verdes alemanes anuncian un ambicioso programa para luchar contra el cambio climático”. El País. https://elpais.com/internacional/2021-08-03/los-verdes-alemanes-anuncian-un-ambicioso-programa-para-luchar-contra-el-cambio-climatico.html
April 19, 2021. Jens Thurau. “Qué quieren hacer Los Verdes si llegan al poder en Alemania?”. https://www.dw.com/es/qu%C3%A9-quieren-hacer-los-verdes-si-llegan-al-poder-en-alemania/a-57256827
By Pau Juncadella Guerrero
The Greens are facing possibly the most important federal election to date for their political party, led by Annalena Baerbock as the candidate to become the new Chancellor of Germany after the retirement of Angela Merkel. In the last federal elections of 2017 the Greens won a total of 67 seats out of a possible 709 seats in the Bundestag, they won 4 seats more than in the 2013 elections. Furthermore in the European Parliament elections that took place in 2019 they won a total of 21 seats out of the 96 possible seats, winning 10 seats more than in the 2014 elections. The Greens put forward an ambitious electoral program for the 2021 elections that will take place on Sunday, September 26, this program is marked above all by ambition in the fight against climate change.
The electoral program presented by the Greens to the elections of 2021 is mainly focused on reducing climate change by exercising an ecological and sustainable character for the future of Germany and the Planet. That is why, compared to the other political parties running in the German federal elections, the Greens distinguish themselves by focusing their electoral program on the environment and climate change rather than on the economy or foreign policy (also important points in their electoral program).
The most important points of the Greens' election program are: the creation of a ministry for climate protection with veto power, an immediate climate protection program, phasing out coal by 2030, returning CO2 revenues to the people as a per capita lump sum, systematically including climate protection in our legal system, installing 5 million new solar roofs in the next four years, additional investments of 50. 50 billion per year in socio-ecological transformation, a speed limit of 130 km/h on highways, that federal states set aside 2% of their territory for wind energy.
On the economic and international side, the Greens raise these points: Klimaverträge (Carbon Contract for Difference), all investments must have a sustainability assessment that is transparent for all investors, they want the European Central Bank (ECB) to create a digital euro, immediately increase the legal minimum wage to 12 euros, convert unemployment insurance into occupational health insurance, equal pay law to close the wage gap between men and women. Regarding their relations with China they call for an end to their human rights violations, accordingly The European Supply Chain Act should deny access to the internal market for products derived from forced labor. Compliance with sustainable product standards and a transparent roadmap to combat the climate crisis, e.g. by phasing out coal in China. Unification with Taiwan should not be forced against the will of the people of Taiwan. Regarding Russia they call for strengthening if necessary the sanctions imposed on Russia for the annexation of Crimea contrary to international law and the military action against Ukraine as well as stopping the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. In the Global South they demand a debt restructuring and also debt cancellation.
After an analysis of the most important points proposed by the Greens in the economic field for the 2021 elections, the Greens classify themselves as a center-left party in the economic field. In the social field they seek an improvement of the minimum wage as well as improving occupational health and integrating women by breaking the wage gap still existing in Germany. Their position regarding China and Russia is clear and firm, they intend to fight against the abuse of human rights and forced labor as well as seek that these countries meet the standards of sustainable products, climate change etc ... That is why after analyzing the electoral program of the Greens, this political party would be classified as Green/Alternative/Libertarian also called GAL or post-materialist.
The real possibilities of this party in the second ballot are difficult since its biggest rivals are CDU/CSU and SPD which are the two biggest parties in Germany, they have a great support especially by the more adult people of the German population, while The Greens are mostly supported by young people. On the other hand, the three political parties FDP, Die Linke and AfD have less popularity than The Greens, according to the latest polls The Greens are placed as the third power to win the federal elections this September 26th. Despite being the third power in the elections, the Greens have a high probability of being part of Germany's new government, as there is likely to be a coalition government. There are three real options for the Greens to be part of the new government: the coalition between CDU/CSU and the Greens, SPD and the Greens and finally the grand coalition between the Greens, FDP, Die Linke and AfD. Despite these possible coalitions, nothing is written with certainty since we will not know the real results until September 26, 2021. In addition, if finally after the elections it is necessary to create a coalition government with the Greens in it, they will have to negotiate and seek their objectives, which are focused on the fight against climate change and the improvement of the environment.
Bibliography:
July 22, 2021. Alice Hubbard and Eleanore Spies. “A Guide German Party Election Platforms 2021”. American Institute for Contemporary German Studies. https://www.aicgs.org/2021/07/a-guide-german-party-election-platforms-2021/
August 3, 2021. Enrique Müller. “Los Verdes alemanes anuncian un ambicioso programa para luchar contra el cambio climático”. El País. https://elpais.com/internacional/2021-08-03/los-verdes-alemanes-anuncian-un-ambicioso-programa-para-luchar-contra-el-cambio-climatico.html
April 19, 2021. Jens Thurau. “Qué quieren hacer Los Verdes si llegan al poder en Alemania?”. https://www.dw.com/es/qu%C3%A9-quieren-hacer-los-verdes-si-llegan-al-poder-en-alemania/a-57256827
Alternative for Germany (AfD) Platform
By Shrey Patel
The Alternative for Germany Party, founded in 2013, was formed on outrage. The party started following the financial crisis that led stress on countries that adopted the Euro, a currency that would become universal form within the European Union. This party originally stood on the platform made by economists that said that Germany didn’t have to bail out other countries, instead Germany shall just withdraw from the Euro. Initially this party was just focused economically till 2017 when this party picked up another platform on immigration — where this party rebelled Chancellor Merkel and her polices allowing asylum seekers into Germany. At that point this party grew to become the third largest party within the Bundestag but then followed a steep decline in their members due to their outrageous positions on other party platforms (Eddy, 2017).
The AfD party is in the eyes of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution for defying and threatening the German democratic constitutional system. Just recently the party has found itself under a lengthy two year investigation and from that investigation the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution will soon announce that the AfD party and it’s more prominent members will be under state surveillance for posing to the German democracy (Schmitz, 2021).
Today this party focuses on immigration reform (Nasr, 2021) and economic reform, with the idea to return Germany to what it was before Merkel took the position as Chancellor. Their current platform includes a stance on restricting asylum seekers to come to Germany and too send the current asylum seekers in Germany back to their home countries. They also still stand for pulling Germany out of the European Union and return to the Deutschmark, the original German currency. Environmentally they want to lift all the policies that were made by Chancellor Merkel because the party does not believe that humans have made an effect on climate change.
The AfD compared to other parties has a very different view on Economics. As mentioned earlier, the AfD wants to have Germany no longer participate in the European Union and wants to remove the Euro as the dominant currency in Germany. The party also mentions lowering taxes for the middle class, and rather to increase taxes on politicians and on big businesses. They also want to remove pension and welfare benefits on those who don’t reside in Germany and don’t want low skill migrants to take on jobs that Germans could also do. The party strongly believes in also abolishing the Carbon Tax. Before the populists joined the party, the party was leaned more toward the right on the spectrum. Now, the economic policies of the AfD would fall in the center of the left-right economic spectrum, because the party’s focus has shifted from economic reform to immigration reform. (Kim, 2018)
Their main social and foreign policy stances focus on traditional Germany thoughts including the opposition on LGBT marriage and the banning of minarets in Germany. Branching off those per-views they see that there is a demographic crisis coming to Germany if the country doesn’t increase German ethnical families. The AfD wants to increase a marriage startup credit for heterosexual German ethnical couples so that they start family planning. They also are giving those families who have a child when they are students a one time student debt alleviation. The AfD also wants to get rid of environmental regulations and increase housing for young families so that they can raise families to create a larger German ethnic population. Another large focus that the party has is to reform the Office of Constitutional Protection Investigation; this focus has become part of their campaign because this office has found this party as a potential threat to Germany’s Democracy many times, so this party has decided to reform this office. Overall, this party would fall more on the Traditional/ Authoritarian/Nationalist side as it focuses on bringing Germany back to its traditional roots.
The Alternative for Germany based on current polls is looking at being tied for the position of the 4th largest party within the Bundestag. Currently the party has roughly 13 percent of the votes within the Bundestag (Deutscher Bundestag, 2021) and for the current election with current polling it looks as if the AfD will take about 11 percent of the votes within the Bundestag (INWT Statistics, 2021). The Alternative for Germany is not sought to be a party to have coalitions with other party because of their strong opposition viewpoints against all other parties. In this current election, there is not much of a likelihood of coalition with the Alternative for Germany and any other party.
Bibliography
Deutscher Bundestag. (2021, August 27). German Bundestag - Distribution of seats. German Bundestag. https://www.bundestag.de/en/parliament/plenary/distributionofseats
Eddy, M. (2017, September 25). Alternative for Germany: Who Are They, and What Do They Want? - The New York Times. The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/25/world/europe/germany-election-afd.html
Installment Report: POLITICO Poll of Polls — German polls, trends and election news for Germany. (2021). POLITICO. https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/germany/
INWT Statistics. (2021). Bundestagswahl 2021: Unsere Prognose | INWT Statistics. Bundestagswahl 2021: Unsere Prognose | INWT Statistics. https://www.wer-gewinnt-die-wahl.de/en
Kim, J. (2018). The radical market-oriented policies of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and support from non-beneficiary groups – discrepancies between the party’s policies and its supporters. Asian Journal of German and European Studies, 3.
Nasr, J. (2021, June 7). Divided far-right AfD loses ground in east German stronghold | Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/divided-far-right-afd-loses-ground-east-german-stronghold-2021-06-07/
Schmitz, R. (2021, January 20). Germany Expected To Put Right-Wing AfD Under Surveillance For Violating Constitution. NPR - National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/2021/01/22/959264440/germany-expected-to-put-right-wing-afd-under-surveillance-for-violating-constitu
By Shrey Patel
The Alternative for Germany Party, founded in 2013, was formed on outrage. The party started following the financial crisis that led stress on countries that adopted the Euro, a currency that would become universal form within the European Union. This party originally stood on the platform made by economists that said that Germany didn’t have to bail out other countries, instead Germany shall just withdraw from the Euro. Initially this party was just focused economically till 2017 when this party picked up another platform on immigration — where this party rebelled Chancellor Merkel and her polices allowing asylum seekers into Germany. At that point this party grew to become the third largest party within the Bundestag but then followed a steep decline in their members due to their outrageous positions on other party platforms (Eddy, 2017).
The AfD party is in the eyes of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution for defying and threatening the German democratic constitutional system. Just recently the party has found itself under a lengthy two year investigation and from that investigation the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution will soon announce that the AfD party and it’s more prominent members will be under state surveillance for posing to the German democracy (Schmitz, 2021).
Today this party focuses on immigration reform (Nasr, 2021) and economic reform, with the idea to return Germany to what it was before Merkel took the position as Chancellor. Their current platform includes a stance on restricting asylum seekers to come to Germany and too send the current asylum seekers in Germany back to their home countries. They also still stand for pulling Germany out of the European Union and return to the Deutschmark, the original German currency. Environmentally they want to lift all the policies that were made by Chancellor Merkel because the party does not believe that humans have made an effect on climate change.
The AfD compared to other parties has a very different view on Economics. As mentioned earlier, the AfD wants to have Germany no longer participate in the European Union and wants to remove the Euro as the dominant currency in Germany. The party also mentions lowering taxes for the middle class, and rather to increase taxes on politicians and on big businesses. They also want to remove pension and welfare benefits on those who don’t reside in Germany and don’t want low skill migrants to take on jobs that Germans could also do. The party strongly believes in also abolishing the Carbon Tax. Before the populists joined the party, the party was leaned more toward the right on the spectrum. Now, the economic policies of the AfD would fall in the center of the left-right economic spectrum, because the party’s focus has shifted from economic reform to immigration reform. (Kim, 2018)
Their main social and foreign policy stances focus on traditional Germany thoughts including the opposition on LGBT marriage and the banning of minarets in Germany. Branching off those per-views they see that there is a demographic crisis coming to Germany if the country doesn’t increase German ethnical families. The AfD wants to increase a marriage startup credit for heterosexual German ethnical couples so that they start family planning. They also are giving those families who have a child when they are students a one time student debt alleviation. The AfD also wants to get rid of environmental regulations and increase housing for young families so that they can raise families to create a larger German ethnic population. Another large focus that the party has is to reform the Office of Constitutional Protection Investigation; this focus has become part of their campaign because this office has found this party as a potential threat to Germany’s Democracy many times, so this party has decided to reform this office. Overall, this party would fall more on the Traditional/ Authoritarian/Nationalist side as it focuses on bringing Germany back to its traditional roots.
The Alternative for Germany based on current polls is looking at being tied for the position of the 4th largest party within the Bundestag. Currently the party has roughly 13 percent of the votes within the Bundestag (Deutscher Bundestag, 2021) and for the current election with current polling it looks as if the AfD will take about 11 percent of the votes within the Bundestag (INWT Statistics, 2021). The Alternative for Germany is not sought to be a party to have coalitions with other party because of their strong opposition viewpoints against all other parties. In this current election, there is not much of a likelihood of coalition with the Alternative for Germany and any other party.
Bibliography
Deutscher Bundestag. (2021, August 27). German Bundestag - Distribution of seats. German Bundestag. https://www.bundestag.de/en/parliament/plenary/distributionofseats
Eddy, M. (2017, September 25). Alternative for Germany: Who Are They, and What Do They Want? - The New York Times. The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/25/world/europe/germany-election-afd.html
Installment Report: POLITICO Poll of Polls — German polls, trends and election news for Germany. (2021). POLITICO. https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/germany/
INWT Statistics. (2021). Bundestagswahl 2021: Unsere Prognose | INWT Statistics. Bundestagswahl 2021: Unsere Prognose | INWT Statistics. https://www.wer-gewinnt-die-wahl.de/en
Kim, J. (2018). The radical market-oriented policies of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and support from non-beneficiary groups – discrepancies between the party’s policies and its supporters. Asian Journal of German and European Studies, 3.
Nasr, J. (2021, June 7). Divided far-right AfD loses ground in east German stronghold | Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/divided-far-right-afd-loses-ground-east-german-stronghold-2021-06-07/
Schmitz, R. (2021, January 20). Germany Expected To Put Right-Wing AfD Under Surveillance For Violating Constitution. NPR - National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/2021/01/22/959264440/germany-expected-to-put-right-wing-afd-under-surveillance-for-violating-constitu
Key Campaign Issues
Transatlantic Relations
By Rafael Bichara
The German – American relationship has been a central pillar of German foreign policy since the creation of the federal republic. Like any bilateral relationship, the German – American alliance has shaken at times, but more often than not the two nations have found common ground and worked together towards common goals. In recent years however, the partnership has experienced turbulence which has left many in Germany wondering just how reliable the United States is. Heading into the federal election, most German parties expressed a hopeful renewal of the transatlantic alliance under the presidency of Joe Biden, but the new administration’s inaction to remove tariffs and the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan have deeply complicated the picture (Amaro 2021).
Typically, German elections are not contested over foreign policy and the 2021 election is no different. However, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan sent shockwaves through Germany, much as it did everywhere else in the Western world. While not completely upending the election campaign, the Afghanistan fiasco has brought Germany’s relationship with the United States into the public eye and has forced all parties to express their plans and expectations for the transatlantic partnership going forward. German public opinion on the country’s relationship with the United States has reached major lows in recent years. A Pew research study conducted at the end of 2020 found that almost 80% of Germans find relations with the United States to be in bad standing (Poushter and Schumacher 2020). The debacle in Afghanistan has served to worsen this trend, leaving many Germans enraged and feeling as if the country’s support of its key ally was all for nothing (Bateson 2021). The recent announcement of the AUKUS defense agreement, which incensed France, has also cause outcry in Germany and further called into question the United States’ commitment to its European partners (Whiteside 2021).
Most of Germany’s major parties have similar stances concerning the bilateral relationship with the United States. However, there are many nuances between the party platforms on how to frame the American – German alliance and how closely to rely on the United States. The SPD, currently polling in first place, states in their platform that they want “nothing less than a fresh start” with the new United States administration (SPD 2021). Compared to the more conservative parties in the election, the SPD is slightly more skeptic of the United States and wants to strengthen the EU as a peace power less reliant on the American military (Besch 2021). However, the SPD still expresses a strong desire to work with the United States on common issues such as health, climate, and trade (SPD 2021). The CDU, polling in second place, highlights the role of the United States as Germany’s most important ally in their platform and expresses a desire to work cooperatively on many of the same issues that the SPD singles out (Ewers-Peters 2021). The CDU also stresses the importance of NATO and wants Germany and the United States to be on equal footing when it comes to security policy (Franke 2021).
Both the Greens and the FDP (in third and fourth place respectively) are likely to join the governing coalition, meaning that their views on the United States will be highly consequential. The Greens, like the SPD, call for a renewal of the transatlantic partnership with climate-oriented goals at the center (Greens 2021). On transatlantic security policy, the Greens recognize that the United States is pivoting away from Europe and the party’s platform calls for the EU to take more responsibility for its own security (Greens 2021). The FDP call themselves “committed transatlanticists” in their platform and express a desire to deepen relations with the United States, especially on trade (FDP 2021). The FDP also call for a strengthened NATO and want the pact to act more cohesively and in a way that accounts for the changing geopolitics of recent years (FDP 2021).
The remaining two major parties, the AfD and Die Linke, have the most divergent views on Germany’s relations with the United States. However, they are also the parties least likely to join a governing coalition. The AfD platform calls for equality between Germany and the United States in their partnership and the end of all American tariffs on German goods (AfD 2021). On security, the AfD are firm supporters of NATO and support raising Germany’s defense spending to 2% to fall in line with American demands (AfD 2021). Die Linke hold the most hostile views of the United States among the main contenders. Die Linke believes that the United States is fueling a Cold War with China and Russia, and the party wants NATO to be disbanded (Franke 2021). They also want Germany to repatriate all of its soldiers and to stop supporting American led military missions (Franke 2021).
Regardless of the election results, Germany is going to continue to have a solid relationship with the United States. However, the governing coalition that comes into power is going to determine just how close that relationship will be. If a CDU led coalition is formed in the wake of the election, then it is likely that Germany will attempt to align it security policy more closely with the United States (Franke and Besch 2021). If an SPD led coalition arises, then it is likely that Germany will look more towards the EU for security policy and slightly less towards the United States (Franke and Besch 2021). In either coalition, the two countries are going to continue to work together on issues like climate change, human rights, and trade.
Bibliography
AfD. 2021. “Germany. But Normal.” AfD Webpage. Accessed 22 Sept. 2021. https://www.afd.de/wahlprogramm/
Amaro, Silvia. “U.S. and German Relations at a Crossroads as Afghanistan Crisis Unfolds.” CNBC, 24 Aug. 2021.
Bateson, Ian. “Afghanistan Pullout Chills US-German Relations.” Deutsche Welle, 31 Aug. 2021.
Besch, Sophia, panelist. Panel discussion. AICGS Webinar: The German Election and Transatlantic Security, 21 Sept. 2021. https://www.aicgs.org/video/the-german-election-and-transatlantic-security/
Ewers-Peters, Nele M. “Why Americans Should Care About the 2021 German Elections.” American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, 14 Sept. 2021.
FDP. 2021. “There Has Never Been More to Do.” FDP Webpage. Accessed 22 Sept. 2021. https://www.fdp.de/vielzutun
Franke, Ulrike. “Foreign and Defence Policy in the German Election.” European Council on Foreign Relations, 16 Sept. 2021.
Franke, Ulrike and Besch, Sophia, panelists. Panel discussion. AICGS Webinar: The German Election and Transatlantic Security, 21 Sept. 2021. https://www.aicgs.org/video/the-german-election-and-transatlantic-security/
Greens. 2021. “Germany. Everything is Possible.” Greens Webpage. Accessed 22 Sept. 2021. https://cms.gruene.de/uploads/documents/Wahlprogramm_Englisch_DIE_GRUENEN_Bundestagswahl_2021.pdf
Poushter, Jacob, and Shannon Schumacher. “Americans and Germans Head Into 2021 With Divergent Opinions on Transatlantic Alliance.” Pew Research Center, 23 Nov. 2020.
SPD. 2021. “The Future Program. For Germany. To You.” SPD Webpage. Accessed 18 Sept. 2021. https://www.spd.de/zukunftsprogramm/uebersicht/
Whiteside, Philip. “AUKUS: Maintaining West's Unity Will 'Require a Lot of Effort', German Official Says, as France Rages over Nuclear Submarine Deal.” Skynews, 18 Sept. 2021.
Overall Foreign Policy
By Brandon M Brillant
CDU/CSU
The CDU/CSU takes a cautious stance on foreign policy. They want the EU and other international organizations to manage crises in unison. They maintain a strong stance in opposition to Chinese aggression but also want to forge a healthy working relationship with them. Germany is an export economy and must have positive interactions with the Chinese to continue to prosper. The CDU wants to stifle Russian aggression in Ukraine and legitimize Crimea as an independent state. Conflict with Russia cannot be overly severe as the CDU wants to complete the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. They are also incredibly opposed to the addition of Turkey to the European Union (Brady, 2021).
SPD
The SPD wants to engage with, but also contain, the Russians through German foreign policy. A robust and healthy relationship between the two countries would be incredibly advantageous. The SPD is split on the topic of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The SPD wants to develop a united European plan for confronting the Chinese. Their party platform specifically condemns Chinese actions against the Uighurs in Xinjiang. Misinformation campaigns are also of interest to the SPD, and they want to ensure that there is an early warning system to prevent its spread (Metzger, 2021).
Greens
The Green party wants to maintain or expand the power and influence of the European Union. They are also pro-NATO in their platform, even though fringe party groups sometimes disagree. The Greens oppose the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for both geopolitical and environmental reasons. Russia and China are not allies, and the Greens support government opposition groups in these countries. The Greens want to continue sanctions on the Russians and ensure that they are maintained until they are compliant with the EU. They strongly condemn the Chinese for their treatment of the Uighur Muslims (Thurau, 2021).
FDP
The FDP supports sturdier foreign policy integration between the European Union countries. They want a permanent seat for the EU on the UN security council. They are in favor of maintaining a strong partnership with the United States. The FDP condemns Russian activity in Crimea and supports the tightening of sanctions. They believe that a moratorium should be enacted for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and reconsider whether it is a strategically wise decision. The FDP wants to foster an improved relationship with the Chinese but wants to ensure that international law is enforced. Military improvement and expansion are essential to the FDP. Eventually, they want to see nuclear weapons phased out for all countries.
Left
The Left party is incredibly interested in foreign policy. They are pacifists and want to see the end to German arms exportation. They do not want to see further cooperation between the EU and NATO. The Left wants to avoid conflict with Russia and China at all costs to prevent a second Cold War. All foreign German troops would be withdrawn under their platform. The Left wants all nuclear weapons to be abolished as soon as possible. Armed drones should not be allowed, and Germany should not purchase any more. They would like to see all advertisements for military service banned. The United States military bases in Germany would be prohibited under the left’s program. Any physical intervention in foreign countries must be avoided. They are, however, not opposed to sending monetary aid.
AFD
The AFD is highly critical of the European Union and does not want to see its expansion. They want to have a “Europe of Fatherlands” rather than continue integration. The party is heavily in favor of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline’s completion and supports a much closer relationship with the Russians. The AFD does not fully trust the Chinese and will only deal with them on equal standing. They want to reinstate mandatory military service to boost German foreign policy power (Franke, 2021).
Bibliography:
Brady, Kate. “Merkel's Conservatives Present Manifesto - 'Together for a Modern Germany': DW: 21.06.2021.” DW.COM, 21 June 2021, www.dw.com/en/merkels-conservatives-present-manifesto-together-for-a-modern-germany/a-57978572.
Franke, Ulrike. “Foreign and Defence Policy in the German Election.” ECFR, 16 Sept. 2021, ecfr.eu/article/foreign-and-defence-policy-in-the-german-election.
Metzger, David. “A Post-Merkel German Foreign Policy: A Look into the Parties' Election Agendas.” Alliance For Securing Democracy, 5 Aug. 2021, securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/a-post-merkel-german-foreign-policy-a-look-into-the-parties-election-agendas/.
Thurau, Jens. “What Do the German Greens Want If They Gain Power?: DW: 19.04.2021.” DW.COM, 19 Apr. 2021, www.dw.com/en/what-do-the-german-greens-want-if-they-gain-power/a-57248907.
The "Black Zero"
By Zoe Fundora
The “Black Zero”: Germany’s Uncertain Return to a Balanced Budget
One of the most contested issues throughout the German election has been the national budget. During COVID, Germany was forced to ignore their usual balanced budget to fund their COVID response. Immediately following the outbreak in 2020, Berlin allocated “$316 in additional spending and foregone revenue and $1.2 trillion in liquidity support” (Goodman, 2021). The German federal cabinet would continue to spend and counteract any economic fallout that resulted from the shutdowns across the nation. Various programs were implemented including reimbursing wages for furloughed workers, additional funding for hospitals, and increased welfare. Considering the world is still dealing with the COVID crisis, there is debate regarding whether Germany should return to having a black zero.
The CDU which tends to be more economically conservative, is in favor of halting relief efforts and returning to a balanced budget. They are eager to reimpose the debt brake as to support their goal of lowering taxes. Similarly, to effectively have a budget of zero, the EU should adopt similar policies and attempt to also have balanced budgets (Gerich, 2021).
The FDP feels similarly but does not feel the need for as immediate of a transition. Some leniencies within the budget could be used to invest within small businesses and digital infrastructure which were some of the main priorities of the FDP. They do agree, that COVID spending specifically needs to end because it has had adverse effects on the economy. Many small businesses have struggled because of lockdowns. The real estate sector of the economy has struggled due to the various restrictions placed on rent prices. The FDP would like to return to business as normal as to ensure that property owners can return to making an income (Treeck, 2021).
The AfD would also like to return to a black zero in a more gradual manner. Throughout their platform, there was not a detailed plan of how that return would be instituted. The AfD is concerned about the impact of debt on future generations especially considering how sudden the COVID relief spending was implemented. The AfD suggests to “systematically reduce public debt” but that is the extent of their plan (AFD, 2021).
The Greens have used COVID relief as an explanation as to why it is functional to stray from the budget. Germany has stayed afloat despite excessive spending during COVID which justifies future spending. As a result, there is no urgency to return to a black zero, and rather spending should continue to aid in environmental pursuits. To instate green energy across the nation, large investments are necessary. COVID has shown that the country is prepared to handle debt in a larger capacity than what has been seen before. Such spending is detailed in their Recovery and Resilience fund which they are hoping to make more permanent. Such investments are expected to assist in reaching carbon neutrality as well as continuing welfare pursuits (Green Platform, 2021).
The SPD falls somewhere in between the aforementioned parties. They are not fully for or against a “black zero” but ultimately are more supportive of a balanced budget (Treeck, 2021). Yet, they are willing to make necessary investments towards raising the minimum wage, protecting workers, and subsidizing green energy. To pay for such investments, the SPD plans to tax larger businesses and high-income individuals.
Considering the abundant goals for social reform from the Left Party, it is likely that they are not in favor of the debt break. They are in favor of a “poverty proof” way of living which would involve some degree of government spending (Die LInke, 2021). This way of living would result in free and equal healthcare and education as well as a livable minimum wage.
There is a clear spectrum of opinions regarding whether Germany should return to a balanced budget. The CDU being the strictest and the Greens being the most explicit about straying from it. The public generally seems opposed to an overly strict budget and prior to COVID were calling for a change, feeling the strict budget “has created an economy with little room for innovation” (Schumacher, 2019). There was not much information regarding how Germans currently feel but assuming the negative opinions prior to COVID, they likely would want to continue having some extent of leniency with the budget. The CDU’s supporters would be the only exception, more likely favoring a complete return to a balanced budget.
Citations
“Ative Für Deutschland.” Alternative für Deutschland, September 22, 2021. https://www.afd.de/.
Gerich, Jan von. “Germany: Sea Change or a Return to Black (Zero)?” Nordea corporate. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://corporate.nordea.com/article/66223/germany-sea-change-or-a-return-to-black-zero.
Goodman, Matthew. “Comparing U.S., Japanese, and German FISCAL Responses To Covid-19.” Comparing U.S., Japanese, and German Fiscal Responses to Covid-19 | Center for Strategic and International Studies, September 17, 2021. https://www.csis.org/analysis/comparing-us-japanese-and-german-fiscal-responses-covid-19.
“On the Future of Europe.” European Greens. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://europeangreens.eu/content/future-europe.
“Programme of the Die LINKE PARTY.” DIE LINKE. English pages. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://en.die-linke.de/party/documents/party-programme/.
Schumacher, Elizabeth. “The Black ZERO: Germany's Love Affair with Austerity: Dw: 16.09.2019.” DW.COM. Accessed September 20, 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/the-black-zero-germanys-love-affair-with-austerity/g-50438659.
Treeck, Johanna. “Germans Ponder 'Sea Change' on TAX, Spending Policies Ahead of Election.” POLITICO. POLITICO, September 10, 2021. https://www.politico.eu/article/germans-ponder-sea-change-taxes-spending-policies-ahead-election/.
North Stream 2 Pipeline
By Claudia Hernandez
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a project commissioned by Gazprom, a Russian energy company, that would run between Russia and Germany through the Baltic Sea. It would effectively double the amount of natural gas being imported to Germany from Russia (Janjevic). However, the pipeline has not been without critique and has become a hot-button issue in the 2021 campaign. While the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will decrease the price of natural gas in Europe substantially, it also raises environmental concerns in its promotion of unclean energy and the political power it offers to Russia.
Both the Green Party and the Free Democrats have been quite vocal in their opposition to the pipeline’s construction (Hoell). They cite the fact that making natural gas cheaper will cause more people to overuse it. This stems from Europeans’ careful consumption of gas due to the high price point. This goes against Germany’s goals to become a carbon-neutral country and to begin relying on clean energy sources. Proponents of the pipeline have stated that the pipeline will actually reduce the current carbon footprint that comes with obtaining natural gas. However, the very construction of the pipeline has already damaged various natural ecosystems in the Baltic Sea.
However, the main point of contention is the amount of political power that it will give Russia (Toplensky). It will create a natural gas market in Europe that is largely dependent on Russia which many people have criticized (Hoffman and Espimov). While parties such as Markel’s Christian Democrats view the pipeline as a purely economic project and claim it should remain a private business endeavor, they also say that it will decrease the price German citizens need to pay for resources. Parties such as the Greens, who are already hesitant about Germany’s relations with Russia, see the ongoing construction as a diplomatic disaster. Many critics also view the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as an endorsement of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. This is because the agreement to begin the project came only a year after the invasion took place. Furthermore, the construction of the pipeline does not include a path through Ukraine, eliminating a large chunk of its revenue (Janjevic).
However, it should not surprise people that the general German public widely supports the construction of the pipeline. In fact, other than the Green Party and the Free Democrats, most major parties have also expressed their support for the continuation of the project (Hoell). This is, in large part, due to the pipeline’s claims that it is “the most cost-effective source from which to supply to Europe,” (Nord Stream 2). They promise more affordable gas, something which many countries in Europe desperately need as prices continue to rise (Slav). While the project was completed in mid-September, environmentalists believe that Nord Stream 2 should be abandoned in exchange for cleaner energy sources.
All in all, there are vastly different opinions regarding the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. While critics argue that the geopolitical power that this would give Russia is too dangerous, this is not something that widely concerns the general public. While it seems likely that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will be in use soon, there are obvious reasons to believe that it will become an election issue again. Until then, environmentalist parties like the Greens or libertarian parties like the Free Democrats, should continue educating people about the long-term impacts that will be created by this project in order to garner support for its abandonment.
Works Cited
Hoell, Maximillian. “It's high time Berlin pulled the plug on Nord Stream 2.” https://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org/commentary/its-high-time-berlin-pulled-the-plug-on-nord-stream-2/, 21 July 2021, https://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org/commentary/its-high-time-berlin-pulled-the-plug-on-nord-stream-2/. Accessed 22 September 2021.
Hoffman, Frank, and Vladimir Espimov. “Germany's conflict with Russia remains.” Deutsche Welle, 21 September 2021, https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-conflict-with-russia-remains/a-58954360. Accessed 22 September 2021.
Janjevic, Darko. “Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline – What is the controversy about?” Deutsche Welle, 14 July 2018, https://www.dw.com/en/nord-stream-2-gas-pipeline-what-is-the-controversy-about/a-44677741. Accessed 22 September 2021.
Nord Stream 2. “Nord Stream 2: New Pipeline for Europe’s Energy Future.” Nord Stream 2, February 2021, https://www.nord-stream2.com/en/pdf/document/4/. Accessed 22 September 2021.
Slav, Irina. “Nord Stream 2 Could Still End Up In "Investment Ruin."” Oil Price, 20 September 2021, https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/Nord-Stream-2-Could-Still-End-Up-In-Investment-Ruin.html. Accessed 22 September 2021.
Toplensky, Rochelle. “Russia’s New Gas Pipeline to Germany Delivers More Power to Moscow.” The Wall Street Journal, 22 September 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-new-gas-pipeline-to-germany-delivers-more-power-to-moscow-11632311066. Accessed 22 September 2021.
Minimum Wage
By Jarrod Houseknecht
One particular issue that seems to be dividing many politicians and citizens in Germany today is the debate over whether to raise the minimum wage, an issue that tends to be debated throughout United States politics as well. Currently the minimum wage of the country sits at 9.60 euros per hour, a rate many parties believe is too low for German to support their livelihood., even though the originally established German minimum wage began much lower than this. The concept of a country-wide statutory minimum wage was first implemented in Germany during 2015, becoming an especially serious topic of conversation in politics ever since (Bonin 2018).
One party that feels especially strong about this topic is The Left Party, hoping to raise Germany’s minimum wage to 13 euros, the largest push from any political party, and the party’s leads candidates Dietmar Bartsch and Janine Wissler are strict supporters of this policy (“Programme” 2021). This represents the larger motivations and values of The Left, as economic issues are the party’s largest concern when addressing policy reform. Parties like the Greens Party and the Social Democrat Party (SPD) also stand for a large raise in the minimum wage; however, each party has proposed support for the wage raise to 12 euros, unlike The Left (Hubbard & Spies 2021). The SPD’s lead candidate Olaf Scholz has spoken during many recent television debates with other candidates about his support for raising the minimum wage, citing that this change will bring better wages to around 10 million German citizens (Schmitz 2021). Although other candidates from parties like the Greens support similar ideas, Scholz’s plan is often more popular among public opinion, due to his direct guidelines of how to accomplish this goal (Schmitz 2021). Similarly, the Greens lead candidate Annalena Baerbock has made her stance known on the issue, expressing how raising the minimum wage to 12 euros is the only logical decision in her opinion (“Party Decides” 2021).
Other parties in the country such as the Free Democrat Party (FDP) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) do not mention support for the raise in their party platforms, likely predicting that they will not be in support of the issue or do not see it as a worthwhile policy to focus on at this time (Hubbard & Spies 2021). It can be difficult to gain opinions from some of the centrist candidates in parties that do not discuss raising the minimum wage, as they do not want to bring the topic up to anger or lose supporters for election, encouraging them to shy away from discussing the issue. The CDU’s lead candidate, Armin Laschet, has spent much time in recent televised debates attacking the increased minimum wage plans of leaders such as Scholz, letting his disapproval of raising the wage publicly known (McHugh 2021). Laschet specifically referred to Scholz’s efforts to push for this raise as the “wrong signal” (McHugh 2021). Meanwhile, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) outwardly opposes the proposed increase in minimum wage, with support from their lead candidates Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla.
In a similar fashion to the political parties, public opinion on the matter seems to be just as split. Some Germans push forward arguments with fact about how there is small but negative correlation noticed between the minimum wage and overall employment, which was led to 260,000 less jobs in the German work force (Bourne 2019). This is said to be impacted specifically by less hiring due to the increased cost of wages for businesses (Bourne 2019). Similar individuals from the public say that policies introducing minimum wage haven’t stopped German people from being in poverty (Bourne 2019). On the opposite side of the spectrum, other German citizens echo these sentiments of the SPD, Greens, and The Left in support of the policy, claiming that the minimum wage prevents employers and corporations from exploiting workers and keeping them from a livable wage. The public opinion in Germany echoes the debate and reasoning that the United States has between Democrats and Republicans who stand on a specific side of the divided issue.
Bibliography
Bonin, Holger. “Economic Effects of the Minimum Wage in Germany.” IZA Institute of Labor Economics, 2018, www.iza.org/research/projects/minimum-wage.
Bourne, Ryan. “The Impact of The New German Minimum Wage.” CATO Institute, 17 Jan. 2019, www.cato.org/blog/impact-new-german-minimum-wage.
Hubbard, Alice, and Eleanore Spies. “A Guide German Party Election PLATFORMS 2021.” American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, Johns Hopkins University, 22 July 2021, www.aicgs.org/2021/07/a-guide-german-party-election-platforms-2021/.
McHugh, David. “German Candidates Clash over Tax, Minimum Wage in Close Race.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 19 Sept. 2021, abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/german-candidates-clash-tax-minimum-wage-close-race-80113989.
“Party Decides ‘Social Pact’: Baerbock Does Not Give up Hope of Victory.” DeTv, 19 Sept. 2021, detv.us/2021/09/19/party-decides-social-pact-baerbock-does-not-give-up-hope-of-victory/.
“Programme of the Die Linke Party.” DIE LINKE., en.die-linke.de/party/documents/party-programme/.
Schmitz, Rob. “This Is the Candidate to Beat in the Race to Become Germany's next Leader.” NPR, NPR, 14 Sept. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/09/14/1036596126/election-germany-candidate-hamburg-olaf-scholz.
Climate Change
By Danielle Ojeda
Germany’s first national climate law was passed in 2019, beginning the country’s journey toward reduced greenhouse gas emissions and climate neutrality. This Climate Action Law was later amended in 2021 to include further details on emission reductions after 2030. The overall goal of this reformed law is to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045, five years earlier than the European Union’s (EU) objective. Previously, German states individually set their climate targets, and various government programs existed with no framework. While there was initial hesitation surrounding the national climate law, the “heat waves, droughts and the Fridays for Future student climate protests in 2018-2019” finally paved the way for progress (Appunn and Wettengel 2021). Germany has committed to end the use of nuclear power by 2022 and gradually phase out coal-generated power. Due to exhaust emission limits and restrictions on certain older vehicles, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide rates have decreased significantly. Nonetheless, the battle against climate change is not over; in the 2021 German elections, it remains a central issue that largely influences voters’ decisions.
Among the political parties most concerned with environmental protection, the Green Party is the obvious frontrunner. Recent debates surrounding the issue of climate change have become heated as Annalena Baerbock, the Green Party candidate, accuses the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) candidate, Armin Laschet, of lacking knowledge on the climate crisis. The Greens aim to phase out coal completely by 2030 and rely only on renewable resources by 2035. Regarding transportation, they support a “30 kilometer per hour (km/h) speed limit in urban areas” and a “130 km/h speed limit on highways” (Sugue et al.
2021). Moreover, they plan to invest €100 billion in railways by 2035, improve public transport, and eliminate airport subsidies. However, such goals come at a cost; to fund these policies, the Greens plan to disregard Germany’s “black zero” rule and impose higher taxes on high-income earners.
The Left Party and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) also mention environmental issues in their platforms but do not prioritize them. The Left Party, like the Greens, “wants to phase out coal by 2030 at the latest” and “see Germany climate-neutral by 2035” (Deutsche Welle 2021). Additionally, they aim to create 200,000 jobs through the expansion of public transportation, which they eventually hope to make free. Regarding emissions trading, the Left Party is not specific, stating that it would enforce “binding targets for companies” (Lieblang 2021). The SPD is less ambitious, agreeing with the Climate Action Law on becoming carbon-neutral by 2045. Given that Germany is behind on its targets for 2021 due to pandemic setbacks, the SPD’s goal seems more feasible. Olaf Scholz of the SPD believes in the involvement of industry to push forward innovation, an idea with which Annalena Baerbock of the Greens disagrees. By working with the industries, the SPD hopes to promote the production of reusable and recyclable goods, as well as push for research on hydrogen fuel cells. While the Social Democrats agree with the Green Party’s 130 km/h speed limit on the autobahn, they do not plan on phasing out aviation or prolonging Germany’s debt brake.
On the right side of the political spectrum, the CDU/CSU, Free Democratic Party (FDP), and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) have more conservative views on climate protection. The Christian Democrats stick to their government’s climate goal of achieving net greenhouse gases by 2045. To “slash CO2 emissions by 65 percent up to 2030 and by 88 percent by 2040,” the CDU/CSU plans to increase the number of solar panels and wind turbines (Sugue et al. 2021). Both the FDP and the Christian Democrats favor emissions trading in the EU to allow pollution
permits at a price. In contrast with the SPD and Green Party, the CDU/CSU and the FDP are opposed to highway speed limits. However, while the CDU/CSU supports shifting to electric vehicles, the Free Democrats favor subsidies to develop alternative fuels. The FDP, a party based upon less government intervention, is even more lenient with the date for climate neutrality, aiming for 2050. Nonetheless, the party least concerned with climate change, even denying its existence, is the Alternative for Germany (AfD). The AfD believes Germany should withdraw from the Paris Agreement and rejects carbon neutrality, encouraging the continued use of coal,
instead. The AfD and the Greens, therefore, are complete opposites in terms of environmental protection.
The rise in popularity of the Green Party in recent years exemplifies the growing importance of climate change in the eyes of the public. Discussions surrounding climate change have shifted from debating its existence to devising solutions, excluding the AfD. Voters are increasingly considering a party’s environmental policies when making their decisions; in fact, “around half of the German population (51%) says climate change is one of the three biggest challenges the country is facing” (Nijhuis 2020). Any party wishing to gain significant amounts of support will need to focus on protecting the environment, and as younger generations bear the brunt of climate consequences resulting from past actions, this trend will likely continue.
Bibliography
Appunn, Kerstine, and Julian Wettengel. 2021. "Germany's Climate Action Law." Clean Energy Wire. July 12, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/germanys-climate-action-law-begins-takeshape.
Appunn, Kerstine, Freja Eriksen, and Julian Wettengel. 2021. "Germany's Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy Transition Targets." Clean Energy Wire. August 16, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/germanys-greenhouse-gas-emissions-andclimate-targets.
Deutsche Welle. 2021. "Germany's Left Party Plans to Scrap NATO, End Troop Deployments." DW.COM. June 20, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-left-party-plans-to-scrap-nato-end-troop-deployments/a-57973017.
Facts about Germany. n.d. "A Pioneer in Climate Policy." Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/germany-glance/pioneer-climate-policy.
Lieblang, Leo. 2021. "Where Do They Stand on Climate? Comparing German Party Programs." AICGS. July 29, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.aicgs.org/2021/07/where-do-they-stand-on-climate-comparing-german-party-programs/.
Nijhuis, Charlotte. 2020. "Germans More Concerned about Climate Change than Other Europeans – Survey." Clean Energy Wire. December 09, 2020. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/germans-more-concerned-about-climate-change-other-europeans-survey.
Nijhuis, Charlotte. 2021."German Left Party Puts Climate and Fair Transition at Heart of Election Programme." Clean Energy Wire. February 09, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/german-left-party-puts-climate-and-fair-transition-heart-election-programme.
Noyan, Oliver. 2021. "First German Election Debate Reveals Divisions on Climate Policy." Www.euractiv.com. August 30, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.euractiv.com/section/elections/news/first-german-election-debate-reveals-divisions-on-climate-policy/.
Sugue, Merlin, Joshua Posaner, and Antonia Zimmermann. 2021."How Germany's Big Parties Line up on Climate, Mobility Policy." POLITICO. July 22, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.politico.eu/article/how-germanys-election-contenders-line-up-on-climatemobility-policy/.
Thurau, Jens. 2021. "What Do the German Greens Want If They Gain Power?" DW.COM. April 19, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/what-do-the-german-greens-want-if-they-gain-power/a-572489
07.
Wagner, Gernot. 2021. “Germany’s Upcoming Ballot is a Climate Election.” Bloomberg.com. June 11, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-11/germany-s-upcoming-ballot-is-a
-climate-election.
Wehrmann, Benjamin. 2021. "Climate Dominates Germany's Most Unpredictable Election in Decades." Clean Energy Wire. September 17, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/climate-dominates-germanys-most-unpredictable-election-decades.
Immigration Policy
By Amelia Tzotza
The issue of immigration and what direction Germany should move to with respect to how open it is to immigrants that want to move to the country either because they are political refugees or people in hope of a better future has trifurcated the six main parties in the upcoming election. Some, support that Germany should be completely open to immigrants, others, propose schemes to make the accepted immigration more prestige, and others are completely against accepting any form of immigration in Germany.
The CDU/CSU holds a tough stance on immigration and proposes more structured, more efficient, and fairer procedures for asylums and returns as they strive to keep the number of permanent immigrants that comes to Germany and the EU low (Hubbard and Spies 2021). Although the party does not want to enforce illegal migration and exit obligations, it wants to make a distinction between the immigrants that are in danger in their country of origin and those that no longer need Germany’s protection (Hubbard and Spies 2021). This does not include highly skilled potential employees that want to work in Germany in hope of a better career, as the Union supports that targeted immigration is an asset and an opportunity for the country as long as it comes with successful integration into the job market and the society.
Die LINKE, on the contrary, proposes that a new ministry should be created dealing exclusively with immigration and integration issues (Migration Voter 2021). The left party completely rejects the notion of deportations and calls for a right to stay for all (Deutsche Welle 2021). Lastly, the party suggests the responsibility for migration and integration is moved from the Ministry of Interior to the Federal Government, which would be in charge of covering all costs associated with housing, healthcare, and the integration of refugees and migrants (Migration Voter 2021). Under this scheme, the party would support emergency training for teachers and social workers to ensure equal educational opportunities for all.
The Green party is committed to fighting xenophobia and envisions a more united Germany (Thurau 2021). In line with this vision, the party is positive about establishing legal access routes for refugees at the EU’s and Germany’s borders, while it also wants to create more educational and work opportunities for the immigrants that end up in Germany. The Greens are also in favor of family reunifications for families that were separated because of wars or other threads in their countries of origin. Mathias Middelberg, the CDU’s spokesperson on domestic policy criticized the Greens’ stance and characterized it as “a dangerous aberration [that would trigger] uncontrollable immigration to Germany” (Thurau 2021).
The SPD holds a similar stance to the Greens with regards to immigration. The party is highly concerned about fighting discrimination on the basis of origin, color, or religion amongst others and wants to include more diversity in Germany’s public sector population representation. The party believes that people that are in Germany but come from dangerous countries should not be deported to their countries of origin although they might not have an asylum. The party wants to ensure that families stay together or are reunified and wants to increase finding on integration and language courses (Hubbars and Spied 2021). Armin Laschet, the CDU/CSU chancellor candidate criticized their stance says that “with the SPD, Greens, and Left [the country] would get a different republic” (Delfs and Rogers 2021), supporting that national safety would be at stake following such welcoming policies for immigrants.
The FDP, being a libertarian party focusing on modernization, stands in between the CDU/CSU, and the Greens with the SPD in terms on its views on immigration. The party supports that people fleeing war should receive temporary asylums until their countries of origins are safe for them to return (Migration Voter 2020). One exception to this would be people that are targeted because of their sexual orientation. However, the party still welcomes immigrants to Germany that do not come from poor countries or countries at war but are high-skilled and specialized. It calls for a new immigration system that would allocate points based on language, skills, education, and qualifications to let people immigrate to the country (Migration Voter 2020). Qualified refugees would also be allowed to enter that system.
Lastly, the AfD supports that there is a demographic crisis in Germany in which the traditional ethnic German families are becoming less and less, and the immigrant families are becoming more and more. The party wants to deport refugees that do not have an asylum as soon as possible to limit immigration in the country and believes that citizenship should depend on one’s origin and not country of residence (Goldenberg 2021). As opposed to its previous campaigns, this year the party has taken upon the model that the FDP proposes, but the party would only consider high skilled immigrants that speak German and are accustomed to an extent to the German culture.
Bibliography
Barkey, Sophie. “The Green's Election Manifesto Is Out.” Berliner Zeitung, June 13, 2021. https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/en/the-greens-election-manifesto-is-out-li.165048.
Delfs, Arne, and Iain Rogers. “Merkel Heir Plays Security Card to Rescue Bid for Chancellor.” Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, September 13, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-13/merkel-heir-plays-security-card-to-rescue-bid-for-chancellor.
Deutsche Welle. “Germany's Left Party Plans to Scrap NATO, END TROOP DEPLOYMENTS.” DW.COM, June 20, 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-left-party-plans-to-scrap-nato-end-troop-deployments/a-57973017.
Goldenberg, Rina. “AFD Far-Right Gets a Boost through New Top Candidates: DW: 25.05.2021.” DW.COM, May 25, 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/afd-far-right-gets-a-boost-through-new-top-candidates/a-57660205.
Hubbard, Alice, and Eleanore Spies. “A Guide German Party Election Platforms 2021.” AICGS, 2021. https://www.aicgs.org/2021/07/a-guide-german-party-election-platforms-2021/.
Migrationvoter. “German Elections: Where Do the Parties Stand on Asylum, Immigration and Integration?” Migration Voter, March 3, 2020. https://migrationvoter.com/2017/09/04/german-elections-where-do-the-parties-stand-on-asylum-immigration-and-integration/.
Thurau, Jens. “What Do the German Greens Want If They Gain Power?” DW.COM, April 19, 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/what-do-the-german-greens-want-if-they-gain-power/a-57248907.
By Rafael Bichara
The German – American relationship has been a central pillar of German foreign policy since the creation of the federal republic. Like any bilateral relationship, the German – American alliance has shaken at times, but more often than not the two nations have found common ground and worked together towards common goals. In recent years however, the partnership has experienced turbulence which has left many in Germany wondering just how reliable the United States is. Heading into the federal election, most German parties expressed a hopeful renewal of the transatlantic alliance under the presidency of Joe Biden, but the new administration’s inaction to remove tariffs and the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan have deeply complicated the picture (Amaro 2021).
Typically, German elections are not contested over foreign policy and the 2021 election is no different. However, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan sent shockwaves through Germany, much as it did everywhere else in the Western world. While not completely upending the election campaign, the Afghanistan fiasco has brought Germany’s relationship with the United States into the public eye and has forced all parties to express their plans and expectations for the transatlantic partnership going forward. German public opinion on the country’s relationship with the United States has reached major lows in recent years. A Pew research study conducted at the end of 2020 found that almost 80% of Germans find relations with the United States to be in bad standing (Poushter and Schumacher 2020). The debacle in Afghanistan has served to worsen this trend, leaving many Germans enraged and feeling as if the country’s support of its key ally was all for nothing (Bateson 2021). The recent announcement of the AUKUS defense agreement, which incensed France, has also cause outcry in Germany and further called into question the United States’ commitment to its European partners (Whiteside 2021).
Most of Germany’s major parties have similar stances concerning the bilateral relationship with the United States. However, there are many nuances between the party platforms on how to frame the American – German alliance and how closely to rely on the United States. The SPD, currently polling in first place, states in their platform that they want “nothing less than a fresh start” with the new United States administration (SPD 2021). Compared to the more conservative parties in the election, the SPD is slightly more skeptic of the United States and wants to strengthen the EU as a peace power less reliant on the American military (Besch 2021). However, the SPD still expresses a strong desire to work with the United States on common issues such as health, climate, and trade (SPD 2021). The CDU, polling in second place, highlights the role of the United States as Germany’s most important ally in their platform and expresses a desire to work cooperatively on many of the same issues that the SPD singles out (Ewers-Peters 2021). The CDU also stresses the importance of NATO and wants Germany and the United States to be on equal footing when it comes to security policy (Franke 2021).
Both the Greens and the FDP (in third and fourth place respectively) are likely to join the governing coalition, meaning that their views on the United States will be highly consequential. The Greens, like the SPD, call for a renewal of the transatlantic partnership with climate-oriented goals at the center (Greens 2021). On transatlantic security policy, the Greens recognize that the United States is pivoting away from Europe and the party’s platform calls for the EU to take more responsibility for its own security (Greens 2021). The FDP call themselves “committed transatlanticists” in their platform and express a desire to deepen relations with the United States, especially on trade (FDP 2021). The FDP also call for a strengthened NATO and want the pact to act more cohesively and in a way that accounts for the changing geopolitics of recent years (FDP 2021).
The remaining two major parties, the AfD and Die Linke, have the most divergent views on Germany’s relations with the United States. However, they are also the parties least likely to join a governing coalition. The AfD platform calls for equality between Germany and the United States in their partnership and the end of all American tariffs on German goods (AfD 2021). On security, the AfD are firm supporters of NATO and support raising Germany’s defense spending to 2% to fall in line with American demands (AfD 2021). Die Linke hold the most hostile views of the United States among the main contenders. Die Linke believes that the United States is fueling a Cold War with China and Russia, and the party wants NATO to be disbanded (Franke 2021). They also want Germany to repatriate all of its soldiers and to stop supporting American led military missions (Franke 2021).
Regardless of the election results, Germany is going to continue to have a solid relationship with the United States. However, the governing coalition that comes into power is going to determine just how close that relationship will be. If a CDU led coalition is formed in the wake of the election, then it is likely that Germany will attempt to align it security policy more closely with the United States (Franke and Besch 2021). If an SPD led coalition arises, then it is likely that Germany will look more towards the EU for security policy and slightly less towards the United States (Franke and Besch 2021). In either coalition, the two countries are going to continue to work together on issues like climate change, human rights, and trade.
Bibliography
AfD. 2021. “Germany. But Normal.” AfD Webpage. Accessed 22 Sept. 2021. https://www.afd.de/wahlprogramm/
Amaro, Silvia. “U.S. and German Relations at a Crossroads as Afghanistan Crisis Unfolds.” CNBC, 24 Aug. 2021.
Bateson, Ian. “Afghanistan Pullout Chills US-German Relations.” Deutsche Welle, 31 Aug. 2021.
Besch, Sophia, panelist. Panel discussion. AICGS Webinar: The German Election and Transatlantic Security, 21 Sept. 2021. https://www.aicgs.org/video/the-german-election-and-transatlantic-security/
Ewers-Peters, Nele M. “Why Americans Should Care About the 2021 German Elections.” American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, 14 Sept. 2021.
FDP. 2021. “There Has Never Been More to Do.” FDP Webpage. Accessed 22 Sept. 2021. https://www.fdp.de/vielzutun
Franke, Ulrike. “Foreign and Defence Policy in the German Election.” European Council on Foreign Relations, 16 Sept. 2021.
Franke, Ulrike and Besch, Sophia, panelists. Panel discussion. AICGS Webinar: The German Election and Transatlantic Security, 21 Sept. 2021. https://www.aicgs.org/video/the-german-election-and-transatlantic-security/
Greens. 2021. “Germany. Everything is Possible.” Greens Webpage. Accessed 22 Sept. 2021. https://cms.gruene.de/uploads/documents/Wahlprogramm_Englisch_DIE_GRUENEN_Bundestagswahl_2021.pdf
Poushter, Jacob, and Shannon Schumacher. “Americans and Germans Head Into 2021 With Divergent Opinions on Transatlantic Alliance.” Pew Research Center, 23 Nov. 2020.
SPD. 2021. “The Future Program. For Germany. To You.” SPD Webpage. Accessed 18 Sept. 2021. https://www.spd.de/zukunftsprogramm/uebersicht/
Whiteside, Philip. “AUKUS: Maintaining West's Unity Will 'Require a Lot of Effort', German Official Says, as France Rages over Nuclear Submarine Deal.” Skynews, 18 Sept. 2021.
Overall Foreign Policy
By Brandon M Brillant
CDU/CSU
The CDU/CSU takes a cautious stance on foreign policy. They want the EU and other international organizations to manage crises in unison. They maintain a strong stance in opposition to Chinese aggression but also want to forge a healthy working relationship with them. Germany is an export economy and must have positive interactions with the Chinese to continue to prosper. The CDU wants to stifle Russian aggression in Ukraine and legitimize Crimea as an independent state. Conflict with Russia cannot be overly severe as the CDU wants to complete the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. They are also incredibly opposed to the addition of Turkey to the European Union (Brady, 2021).
SPD
The SPD wants to engage with, but also contain, the Russians through German foreign policy. A robust and healthy relationship between the two countries would be incredibly advantageous. The SPD is split on the topic of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The SPD wants to develop a united European plan for confronting the Chinese. Their party platform specifically condemns Chinese actions against the Uighurs in Xinjiang. Misinformation campaigns are also of interest to the SPD, and they want to ensure that there is an early warning system to prevent its spread (Metzger, 2021).
Greens
The Green party wants to maintain or expand the power and influence of the European Union. They are also pro-NATO in their platform, even though fringe party groups sometimes disagree. The Greens oppose the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for both geopolitical and environmental reasons. Russia and China are not allies, and the Greens support government opposition groups in these countries. The Greens want to continue sanctions on the Russians and ensure that they are maintained until they are compliant with the EU. They strongly condemn the Chinese for their treatment of the Uighur Muslims (Thurau, 2021).
FDP
The FDP supports sturdier foreign policy integration between the European Union countries. They want a permanent seat for the EU on the UN security council. They are in favor of maintaining a strong partnership with the United States. The FDP condemns Russian activity in Crimea and supports the tightening of sanctions. They believe that a moratorium should be enacted for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and reconsider whether it is a strategically wise decision. The FDP wants to foster an improved relationship with the Chinese but wants to ensure that international law is enforced. Military improvement and expansion are essential to the FDP. Eventually, they want to see nuclear weapons phased out for all countries.
Left
The Left party is incredibly interested in foreign policy. They are pacifists and want to see the end to German arms exportation. They do not want to see further cooperation between the EU and NATO. The Left wants to avoid conflict with Russia and China at all costs to prevent a second Cold War. All foreign German troops would be withdrawn under their platform. The Left wants all nuclear weapons to be abolished as soon as possible. Armed drones should not be allowed, and Germany should not purchase any more. They would like to see all advertisements for military service banned. The United States military bases in Germany would be prohibited under the left’s program. Any physical intervention in foreign countries must be avoided. They are, however, not opposed to sending monetary aid.
AFD
The AFD is highly critical of the European Union and does not want to see its expansion. They want to have a “Europe of Fatherlands” rather than continue integration. The party is heavily in favor of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline’s completion and supports a much closer relationship with the Russians. The AFD does not fully trust the Chinese and will only deal with them on equal standing. They want to reinstate mandatory military service to boost German foreign policy power (Franke, 2021).
Bibliography:
Brady, Kate. “Merkel's Conservatives Present Manifesto - 'Together for a Modern Germany': DW: 21.06.2021.” DW.COM, 21 June 2021, www.dw.com/en/merkels-conservatives-present-manifesto-together-for-a-modern-germany/a-57978572.
Franke, Ulrike. “Foreign and Defence Policy in the German Election.” ECFR, 16 Sept. 2021, ecfr.eu/article/foreign-and-defence-policy-in-the-german-election.
Metzger, David. “A Post-Merkel German Foreign Policy: A Look into the Parties' Election Agendas.” Alliance For Securing Democracy, 5 Aug. 2021, securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/a-post-merkel-german-foreign-policy-a-look-into-the-parties-election-agendas/.
Thurau, Jens. “What Do the German Greens Want If They Gain Power?: DW: 19.04.2021.” DW.COM, 19 Apr. 2021, www.dw.com/en/what-do-the-german-greens-want-if-they-gain-power/a-57248907.
The "Black Zero"
By Zoe Fundora
The “Black Zero”: Germany’s Uncertain Return to a Balanced Budget
One of the most contested issues throughout the German election has been the national budget. During COVID, Germany was forced to ignore their usual balanced budget to fund their COVID response. Immediately following the outbreak in 2020, Berlin allocated “$316 in additional spending and foregone revenue and $1.2 trillion in liquidity support” (Goodman, 2021). The German federal cabinet would continue to spend and counteract any economic fallout that resulted from the shutdowns across the nation. Various programs were implemented including reimbursing wages for furloughed workers, additional funding for hospitals, and increased welfare. Considering the world is still dealing with the COVID crisis, there is debate regarding whether Germany should return to having a black zero.
The CDU which tends to be more economically conservative, is in favor of halting relief efforts and returning to a balanced budget. They are eager to reimpose the debt brake as to support their goal of lowering taxes. Similarly, to effectively have a budget of zero, the EU should adopt similar policies and attempt to also have balanced budgets (Gerich, 2021).
The FDP feels similarly but does not feel the need for as immediate of a transition. Some leniencies within the budget could be used to invest within small businesses and digital infrastructure which were some of the main priorities of the FDP. They do agree, that COVID spending specifically needs to end because it has had adverse effects on the economy. Many small businesses have struggled because of lockdowns. The real estate sector of the economy has struggled due to the various restrictions placed on rent prices. The FDP would like to return to business as normal as to ensure that property owners can return to making an income (Treeck, 2021).
The AfD would also like to return to a black zero in a more gradual manner. Throughout their platform, there was not a detailed plan of how that return would be instituted. The AfD is concerned about the impact of debt on future generations especially considering how sudden the COVID relief spending was implemented. The AfD suggests to “systematically reduce public debt” but that is the extent of their plan (AFD, 2021).
The Greens have used COVID relief as an explanation as to why it is functional to stray from the budget. Germany has stayed afloat despite excessive spending during COVID which justifies future spending. As a result, there is no urgency to return to a black zero, and rather spending should continue to aid in environmental pursuits. To instate green energy across the nation, large investments are necessary. COVID has shown that the country is prepared to handle debt in a larger capacity than what has been seen before. Such spending is detailed in their Recovery and Resilience fund which they are hoping to make more permanent. Such investments are expected to assist in reaching carbon neutrality as well as continuing welfare pursuits (Green Platform, 2021).
The SPD falls somewhere in between the aforementioned parties. They are not fully for or against a “black zero” but ultimately are more supportive of a balanced budget (Treeck, 2021). Yet, they are willing to make necessary investments towards raising the minimum wage, protecting workers, and subsidizing green energy. To pay for such investments, the SPD plans to tax larger businesses and high-income individuals.
Considering the abundant goals for social reform from the Left Party, it is likely that they are not in favor of the debt break. They are in favor of a “poverty proof” way of living which would involve some degree of government spending (Die LInke, 2021). This way of living would result in free and equal healthcare and education as well as a livable minimum wage.
There is a clear spectrum of opinions regarding whether Germany should return to a balanced budget. The CDU being the strictest and the Greens being the most explicit about straying from it. The public generally seems opposed to an overly strict budget and prior to COVID were calling for a change, feeling the strict budget “has created an economy with little room for innovation” (Schumacher, 2019). There was not much information regarding how Germans currently feel but assuming the negative opinions prior to COVID, they likely would want to continue having some extent of leniency with the budget. The CDU’s supporters would be the only exception, more likely favoring a complete return to a balanced budget.
Citations
“Ative Für Deutschland.” Alternative für Deutschland, September 22, 2021. https://www.afd.de/.
Gerich, Jan von. “Germany: Sea Change or a Return to Black (Zero)?” Nordea corporate. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://corporate.nordea.com/article/66223/germany-sea-change-or-a-return-to-black-zero.
Goodman, Matthew. “Comparing U.S., Japanese, and German FISCAL Responses To Covid-19.” Comparing U.S., Japanese, and German Fiscal Responses to Covid-19 | Center for Strategic and International Studies, September 17, 2021. https://www.csis.org/analysis/comparing-us-japanese-and-german-fiscal-responses-covid-19.
“On the Future of Europe.” European Greens. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://europeangreens.eu/content/future-europe.
“Programme of the Die LINKE PARTY.” DIE LINKE. English pages. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://en.die-linke.de/party/documents/party-programme/.
Schumacher, Elizabeth. “The Black ZERO: Germany's Love Affair with Austerity: Dw: 16.09.2019.” DW.COM. Accessed September 20, 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/the-black-zero-germanys-love-affair-with-austerity/g-50438659.
Treeck, Johanna. “Germans Ponder 'Sea Change' on TAX, Spending Policies Ahead of Election.” POLITICO. POLITICO, September 10, 2021. https://www.politico.eu/article/germans-ponder-sea-change-taxes-spending-policies-ahead-election/.
North Stream 2 Pipeline
By Claudia Hernandez
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a project commissioned by Gazprom, a Russian energy company, that would run between Russia and Germany through the Baltic Sea. It would effectively double the amount of natural gas being imported to Germany from Russia (Janjevic). However, the pipeline has not been without critique and has become a hot-button issue in the 2021 campaign. While the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will decrease the price of natural gas in Europe substantially, it also raises environmental concerns in its promotion of unclean energy and the political power it offers to Russia.
Both the Green Party and the Free Democrats have been quite vocal in their opposition to the pipeline’s construction (Hoell). They cite the fact that making natural gas cheaper will cause more people to overuse it. This stems from Europeans’ careful consumption of gas due to the high price point. This goes against Germany’s goals to become a carbon-neutral country and to begin relying on clean energy sources. Proponents of the pipeline have stated that the pipeline will actually reduce the current carbon footprint that comes with obtaining natural gas. However, the very construction of the pipeline has already damaged various natural ecosystems in the Baltic Sea.
However, the main point of contention is the amount of political power that it will give Russia (Toplensky). It will create a natural gas market in Europe that is largely dependent on Russia which many people have criticized (Hoffman and Espimov). While parties such as Markel’s Christian Democrats view the pipeline as a purely economic project and claim it should remain a private business endeavor, they also say that it will decrease the price German citizens need to pay for resources. Parties such as the Greens, who are already hesitant about Germany’s relations with Russia, see the ongoing construction as a diplomatic disaster. Many critics also view the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as an endorsement of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. This is because the agreement to begin the project came only a year after the invasion took place. Furthermore, the construction of the pipeline does not include a path through Ukraine, eliminating a large chunk of its revenue (Janjevic).
However, it should not surprise people that the general German public widely supports the construction of the pipeline. In fact, other than the Green Party and the Free Democrats, most major parties have also expressed their support for the continuation of the project (Hoell). This is, in large part, due to the pipeline’s claims that it is “the most cost-effective source from which to supply to Europe,” (Nord Stream 2). They promise more affordable gas, something which many countries in Europe desperately need as prices continue to rise (Slav). While the project was completed in mid-September, environmentalists believe that Nord Stream 2 should be abandoned in exchange for cleaner energy sources.
All in all, there are vastly different opinions regarding the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. While critics argue that the geopolitical power that this would give Russia is too dangerous, this is not something that widely concerns the general public. While it seems likely that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will be in use soon, there are obvious reasons to believe that it will become an election issue again. Until then, environmentalist parties like the Greens or libertarian parties like the Free Democrats, should continue educating people about the long-term impacts that will be created by this project in order to garner support for its abandonment.
Works Cited
Hoell, Maximillian. “It's high time Berlin pulled the plug on Nord Stream 2.” https://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org/commentary/its-high-time-berlin-pulled-the-plug-on-nord-stream-2/, 21 July 2021, https://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org/commentary/its-high-time-berlin-pulled-the-plug-on-nord-stream-2/. Accessed 22 September 2021.
Hoffman, Frank, and Vladimir Espimov. “Germany's conflict with Russia remains.” Deutsche Welle, 21 September 2021, https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-conflict-with-russia-remains/a-58954360. Accessed 22 September 2021.
Janjevic, Darko. “Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline – What is the controversy about?” Deutsche Welle, 14 July 2018, https://www.dw.com/en/nord-stream-2-gas-pipeline-what-is-the-controversy-about/a-44677741. Accessed 22 September 2021.
Nord Stream 2. “Nord Stream 2: New Pipeline for Europe’s Energy Future.” Nord Stream 2, February 2021, https://www.nord-stream2.com/en/pdf/document/4/. Accessed 22 September 2021.
Slav, Irina. “Nord Stream 2 Could Still End Up In "Investment Ruin."” Oil Price, 20 September 2021, https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/Nord-Stream-2-Could-Still-End-Up-In-Investment-Ruin.html. Accessed 22 September 2021.
Toplensky, Rochelle. “Russia’s New Gas Pipeline to Germany Delivers More Power to Moscow.” The Wall Street Journal, 22 September 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-new-gas-pipeline-to-germany-delivers-more-power-to-moscow-11632311066. Accessed 22 September 2021.
Minimum Wage
By Jarrod Houseknecht
One particular issue that seems to be dividing many politicians and citizens in Germany today is the debate over whether to raise the minimum wage, an issue that tends to be debated throughout United States politics as well. Currently the minimum wage of the country sits at 9.60 euros per hour, a rate many parties believe is too low for German to support their livelihood., even though the originally established German minimum wage began much lower than this. The concept of a country-wide statutory minimum wage was first implemented in Germany during 2015, becoming an especially serious topic of conversation in politics ever since (Bonin 2018).
One party that feels especially strong about this topic is The Left Party, hoping to raise Germany’s minimum wage to 13 euros, the largest push from any political party, and the party’s leads candidates Dietmar Bartsch and Janine Wissler are strict supporters of this policy (“Programme” 2021). This represents the larger motivations and values of The Left, as economic issues are the party’s largest concern when addressing policy reform. Parties like the Greens Party and the Social Democrat Party (SPD) also stand for a large raise in the minimum wage; however, each party has proposed support for the wage raise to 12 euros, unlike The Left (Hubbard & Spies 2021). The SPD’s lead candidate Olaf Scholz has spoken during many recent television debates with other candidates about his support for raising the minimum wage, citing that this change will bring better wages to around 10 million German citizens (Schmitz 2021). Although other candidates from parties like the Greens support similar ideas, Scholz’s plan is often more popular among public opinion, due to his direct guidelines of how to accomplish this goal (Schmitz 2021). Similarly, the Greens lead candidate Annalena Baerbock has made her stance known on the issue, expressing how raising the minimum wage to 12 euros is the only logical decision in her opinion (“Party Decides” 2021).
Other parties in the country such as the Free Democrat Party (FDP) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) do not mention support for the raise in their party platforms, likely predicting that they will not be in support of the issue or do not see it as a worthwhile policy to focus on at this time (Hubbard & Spies 2021). It can be difficult to gain opinions from some of the centrist candidates in parties that do not discuss raising the minimum wage, as they do not want to bring the topic up to anger or lose supporters for election, encouraging them to shy away from discussing the issue. The CDU’s lead candidate, Armin Laschet, has spent much time in recent televised debates attacking the increased minimum wage plans of leaders such as Scholz, letting his disapproval of raising the wage publicly known (McHugh 2021). Laschet specifically referred to Scholz’s efforts to push for this raise as the “wrong signal” (McHugh 2021). Meanwhile, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) outwardly opposes the proposed increase in minimum wage, with support from their lead candidates Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla.
In a similar fashion to the political parties, public opinion on the matter seems to be just as split. Some Germans push forward arguments with fact about how there is small but negative correlation noticed between the minimum wage and overall employment, which was led to 260,000 less jobs in the German work force (Bourne 2019). This is said to be impacted specifically by less hiring due to the increased cost of wages for businesses (Bourne 2019). Similar individuals from the public say that policies introducing minimum wage haven’t stopped German people from being in poverty (Bourne 2019). On the opposite side of the spectrum, other German citizens echo these sentiments of the SPD, Greens, and The Left in support of the policy, claiming that the minimum wage prevents employers and corporations from exploiting workers and keeping them from a livable wage. The public opinion in Germany echoes the debate and reasoning that the United States has between Democrats and Republicans who stand on a specific side of the divided issue.
Bibliography
Bonin, Holger. “Economic Effects of the Minimum Wage in Germany.” IZA Institute of Labor Economics, 2018, www.iza.org/research/projects/minimum-wage.
Bourne, Ryan. “The Impact of The New German Minimum Wage.” CATO Institute, 17 Jan. 2019, www.cato.org/blog/impact-new-german-minimum-wage.
Hubbard, Alice, and Eleanore Spies. “A Guide German Party Election PLATFORMS 2021.” American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, Johns Hopkins University, 22 July 2021, www.aicgs.org/2021/07/a-guide-german-party-election-platforms-2021/.
McHugh, David. “German Candidates Clash over Tax, Minimum Wage in Close Race.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 19 Sept. 2021, abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/german-candidates-clash-tax-minimum-wage-close-race-80113989.
“Party Decides ‘Social Pact’: Baerbock Does Not Give up Hope of Victory.” DeTv, 19 Sept. 2021, detv.us/2021/09/19/party-decides-social-pact-baerbock-does-not-give-up-hope-of-victory/.
“Programme of the Die Linke Party.” DIE LINKE., en.die-linke.de/party/documents/party-programme/.
Schmitz, Rob. “This Is the Candidate to Beat in the Race to Become Germany's next Leader.” NPR, NPR, 14 Sept. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/09/14/1036596126/election-germany-candidate-hamburg-olaf-scholz.
Climate Change
By Danielle Ojeda
Germany’s first national climate law was passed in 2019, beginning the country’s journey toward reduced greenhouse gas emissions and climate neutrality. This Climate Action Law was later amended in 2021 to include further details on emission reductions after 2030. The overall goal of this reformed law is to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045, five years earlier than the European Union’s (EU) objective. Previously, German states individually set their climate targets, and various government programs existed with no framework. While there was initial hesitation surrounding the national climate law, the “heat waves, droughts and the Fridays for Future student climate protests in 2018-2019” finally paved the way for progress (Appunn and Wettengel 2021). Germany has committed to end the use of nuclear power by 2022 and gradually phase out coal-generated power. Due to exhaust emission limits and restrictions on certain older vehicles, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide rates have decreased significantly. Nonetheless, the battle against climate change is not over; in the 2021 German elections, it remains a central issue that largely influences voters’ decisions.
Among the political parties most concerned with environmental protection, the Green Party is the obvious frontrunner. Recent debates surrounding the issue of climate change have become heated as Annalena Baerbock, the Green Party candidate, accuses the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) candidate, Armin Laschet, of lacking knowledge on the climate crisis. The Greens aim to phase out coal completely by 2030 and rely only on renewable resources by 2035. Regarding transportation, they support a “30 kilometer per hour (km/h) speed limit in urban areas” and a “130 km/h speed limit on highways” (Sugue et al.
2021). Moreover, they plan to invest €100 billion in railways by 2035, improve public transport, and eliminate airport subsidies. However, such goals come at a cost; to fund these policies, the Greens plan to disregard Germany’s “black zero” rule and impose higher taxes on high-income earners.
The Left Party and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) also mention environmental issues in their platforms but do not prioritize them. The Left Party, like the Greens, “wants to phase out coal by 2030 at the latest” and “see Germany climate-neutral by 2035” (Deutsche Welle 2021). Additionally, they aim to create 200,000 jobs through the expansion of public transportation, which they eventually hope to make free. Regarding emissions trading, the Left Party is not specific, stating that it would enforce “binding targets for companies” (Lieblang 2021). The SPD is less ambitious, agreeing with the Climate Action Law on becoming carbon-neutral by 2045. Given that Germany is behind on its targets for 2021 due to pandemic setbacks, the SPD’s goal seems more feasible. Olaf Scholz of the SPD believes in the involvement of industry to push forward innovation, an idea with which Annalena Baerbock of the Greens disagrees. By working with the industries, the SPD hopes to promote the production of reusable and recyclable goods, as well as push for research on hydrogen fuel cells. While the Social Democrats agree with the Green Party’s 130 km/h speed limit on the autobahn, they do not plan on phasing out aviation or prolonging Germany’s debt brake.
On the right side of the political spectrum, the CDU/CSU, Free Democratic Party (FDP), and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) have more conservative views on climate protection. The Christian Democrats stick to their government’s climate goal of achieving net greenhouse gases by 2045. To “slash CO2 emissions by 65 percent up to 2030 and by 88 percent by 2040,” the CDU/CSU plans to increase the number of solar panels and wind turbines (Sugue et al. 2021). Both the FDP and the Christian Democrats favor emissions trading in the EU to allow pollution
permits at a price. In contrast with the SPD and Green Party, the CDU/CSU and the FDP are opposed to highway speed limits. However, while the CDU/CSU supports shifting to electric vehicles, the Free Democrats favor subsidies to develop alternative fuels. The FDP, a party based upon less government intervention, is even more lenient with the date for climate neutrality, aiming for 2050. Nonetheless, the party least concerned with climate change, even denying its existence, is the Alternative for Germany (AfD). The AfD believes Germany should withdraw from the Paris Agreement and rejects carbon neutrality, encouraging the continued use of coal,
instead. The AfD and the Greens, therefore, are complete opposites in terms of environmental protection.
The rise in popularity of the Green Party in recent years exemplifies the growing importance of climate change in the eyes of the public. Discussions surrounding climate change have shifted from debating its existence to devising solutions, excluding the AfD. Voters are increasingly considering a party’s environmental policies when making their decisions; in fact, “around half of the German population (51%) says climate change is one of the three biggest challenges the country is facing” (Nijhuis 2020). Any party wishing to gain significant amounts of support will need to focus on protecting the environment, and as younger generations bear the brunt of climate consequences resulting from past actions, this trend will likely continue.
Bibliography
Appunn, Kerstine, and Julian Wettengel. 2021. "Germany's Climate Action Law." Clean Energy Wire. July 12, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/germanys-climate-action-law-begins-takeshape.
Appunn, Kerstine, Freja Eriksen, and Julian Wettengel. 2021. "Germany's Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy Transition Targets." Clean Energy Wire. August 16, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/germanys-greenhouse-gas-emissions-andclimate-targets.
Deutsche Welle. 2021. "Germany's Left Party Plans to Scrap NATO, End Troop Deployments." DW.COM. June 20, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-left-party-plans-to-scrap-nato-end-troop-deployments/a-57973017.
Facts about Germany. n.d. "A Pioneer in Climate Policy." Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/germany-glance/pioneer-climate-policy.
Lieblang, Leo. 2021. "Where Do They Stand on Climate? Comparing German Party Programs." AICGS. July 29, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.aicgs.org/2021/07/where-do-they-stand-on-climate-comparing-german-party-programs/.
Nijhuis, Charlotte. 2020. "Germans More Concerned about Climate Change than Other Europeans – Survey." Clean Energy Wire. December 09, 2020. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/germans-more-concerned-about-climate-change-other-europeans-survey.
Nijhuis, Charlotte. 2021."German Left Party Puts Climate and Fair Transition at Heart of Election Programme." Clean Energy Wire. February 09, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/german-left-party-puts-climate-and-fair-transition-heart-election-programme.
Noyan, Oliver. 2021. "First German Election Debate Reveals Divisions on Climate Policy." Www.euractiv.com. August 30, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.euractiv.com/section/elections/news/first-german-election-debate-reveals-divisions-on-climate-policy/.
Sugue, Merlin, Joshua Posaner, and Antonia Zimmermann. 2021."How Germany's Big Parties Line up on Climate, Mobility Policy." POLITICO. July 22, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.politico.eu/article/how-germanys-election-contenders-line-up-on-climatemobility-policy/.
Thurau, Jens. 2021. "What Do the German Greens Want If They Gain Power?" DW.COM. April 19, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/what-do-the-german-greens-want-if-they-gain-power/a-572489
07.
Wagner, Gernot. 2021. “Germany’s Upcoming Ballot is a Climate Election.” Bloomberg.com. June 11, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-11/germany-s-upcoming-ballot-is-a
-climate-election.
Wehrmann, Benjamin. 2021. "Climate Dominates Germany's Most Unpredictable Election in Decades." Clean Energy Wire. September 17, 2021. Accessed September 21, 2021. https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/climate-dominates-germanys-most-unpredictable-election-decades.
Immigration Policy
By Amelia Tzotza
The issue of immigration and what direction Germany should move to with respect to how open it is to immigrants that want to move to the country either because they are political refugees or people in hope of a better future has trifurcated the six main parties in the upcoming election. Some, support that Germany should be completely open to immigrants, others, propose schemes to make the accepted immigration more prestige, and others are completely against accepting any form of immigration in Germany.
The CDU/CSU holds a tough stance on immigration and proposes more structured, more efficient, and fairer procedures for asylums and returns as they strive to keep the number of permanent immigrants that comes to Germany and the EU low (Hubbard and Spies 2021). Although the party does not want to enforce illegal migration and exit obligations, it wants to make a distinction between the immigrants that are in danger in their country of origin and those that no longer need Germany’s protection (Hubbard and Spies 2021). This does not include highly skilled potential employees that want to work in Germany in hope of a better career, as the Union supports that targeted immigration is an asset and an opportunity for the country as long as it comes with successful integration into the job market and the society.
Die LINKE, on the contrary, proposes that a new ministry should be created dealing exclusively with immigration and integration issues (Migration Voter 2021). The left party completely rejects the notion of deportations and calls for a right to stay for all (Deutsche Welle 2021). Lastly, the party suggests the responsibility for migration and integration is moved from the Ministry of Interior to the Federal Government, which would be in charge of covering all costs associated with housing, healthcare, and the integration of refugees and migrants (Migration Voter 2021). Under this scheme, the party would support emergency training for teachers and social workers to ensure equal educational opportunities for all.
The Green party is committed to fighting xenophobia and envisions a more united Germany (Thurau 2021). In line with this vision, the party is positive about establishing legal access routes for refugees at the EU’s and Germany’s borders, while it also wants to create more educational and work opportunities for the immigrants that end up in Germany. The Greens are also in favor of family reunifications for families that were separated because of wars or other threads in their countries of origin. Mathias Middelberg, the CDU’s spokesperson on domestic policy criticized the Greens’ stance and characterized it as “a dangerous aberration [that would trigger] uncontrollable immigration to Germany” (Thurau 2021).
The SPD holds a similar stance to the Greens with regards to immigration. The party is highly concerned about fighting discrimination on the basis of origin, color, or religion amongst others and wants to include more diversity in Germany’s public sector population representation. The party believes that people that are in Germany but come from dangerous countries should not be deported to their countries of origin although they might not have an asylum. The party wants to ensure that families stay together or are reunified and wants to increase finding on integration and language courses (Hubbars and Spied 2021). Armin Laschet, the CDU/CSU chancellor candidate criticized their stance says that “with the SPD, Greens, and Left [the country] would get a different republic” (Delfs and Rogers 2021), supporting that national safety would be at stake following such welcoming policies for immigrants.
The FDP, being a libertarian party focusing on modernization, stands in between the CDU/CSU, and the Greens with the SPD in terms on its views on immigration. The party supports that people fleeing war should receive temporary asylums until their countries of origins are safe for them to return (Migration Voter 2020). One exception to this would be people that are targeted because of their sexual orientation. However, the party still welcomes immigrants to Germany that do not come from poor countries or countries at war but are high-skilled and specialized. It calls for a new immigration system that would allocate points based on language, skills, education, and qualifications to let people immigrate to the country (Migration Voter 2020). Qualified refugees would also be allowed to enter that system.
Lastly, the AfD supports that there is a demographic crisis in Germany in which the traditional ethnic German families are becoming less and less, and the immigrant families are becoming more and more. The party wants to deport refugees that do not have an asylum as soon as possible to limit immigration in the country and believes that citizenship should depend on one’s origin and not country of residence (Goldenberg 2021). As opposed to its previous campaigns, this year the party has taken upon the model that the FDP proposes, but the party would only consider high skilled immigrants that speak German and are accustomed to an extent to the German culture.
Bibliography
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