.
Elections and reality television have been indistinguishable as of late. The dramatic flairs painting elections in the United States, France, and the UK have all but upstaged the coming German vote. Surely, the atmosphere surrounding the 2017 German elections today is ripe with inevitability. However, while many have tuned in to more alluring political soapboxes, the contest for Germany’s next Chancellor, while lacking headlines, could not be more critical on the geo-political stage.
Setting the Stage
With eleven years of Chancellorship now under her belt, Angela Merkel has made a name for herself and her beloved Germany. Since 2005, Merkel has molded Europe’s politics and economics in her image. Despite harsh criticism from her European counterparts, Merkel pushed harder for austerity measures, tightening the fiscal reigns of southern Europe in efforts to control their staggering debts. In a time of foreign crisis forcing entire populations from their homes, Germany welcomed over one million refugees into its borders. Merkel, irate by Russia’s role in the war in Syria, rallied her fellow EU member countries to step up sanctions and pressure Putin. Given her impressive track record, all signs point to Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Christian Social Union (CSU) sister party to secure a win. No plot twist necessary.
Enter Stage Far-Right
The plot thickened when Martin Schulz, leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), resigned from his prominent position in the European Parliament to take on incumbent Angela Merkel. Upon entering the race, tangoed neck in neck, Schulz, recently christened “the German Bernie Sanders,” calls for increased taxes on the wealthy and tax relief for middle income earners. His design for Germany calls for a syphoning of its budget surplus into infrastructure investments. Also, worthy of note is Martin Schulz’s vocal distaste for the U.S. President, particularly Trump’s demonstrated apathy “to distance himself from Nazis,” and his American nuclear weapons in Germany’s borders.
Guest Starring…
The European Union. It is no secret that Germany is a massive economic player in the European Union. With the biggest and strongest economy of all EU member states, a small tremor in Germany could rattle the financial status of the other members, especially the weakest states. Along with France, Germany is the steady charioteer of European politics, and thus, critical to all Brexit negotiations. Despite the tensions between Merkel and Schulz, the two seem to agree on an uncompromising and firm policy with the UK’s looming exit from the trade bloc.
The United States. Seeing that Germany is one of America’s strongest allies, the September elections are of tremendous importance to U.S.-German relations. Merkel’s visit to the White House last March displayed clear coldness between her and President Trump, an omen of frigid gestures to come. However, Martin Schulz holds Trump in even less regard and is not shy about tearing into the President. Following Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris agreement, Schulz took to Twitter and questioned America’s President’s grasp on reality.
Everybody else. Viewers everywhere should be on the edge of their seats to see if the fiery trend of populism will spark in Germany. Populist flares soared in the past year after the Brexit vote and again for the U.S. elections. While populist passions dwindled with the losses of far-right candidates in France and the Netherlands, the movement smolders still, fueled by the hotly contested issues addressed by the German candidates. While the parties of Merkel and Schulz are by no means populist, Germany’s people demand solutions to the influx of refugees and the security crisis it may entail. For Middle Eastern and African countries ransacked by war, many refugees question the welcome they may, or may not, receive following the September elections.
Spoiler Alert
Angela Merkel and her conservative bloc seem destined to win, consistently pulling over 14 points in the polls over Martin Schulz. It becomes apparent that German citizens prefer the stability of Chancellor Merkel—especially in light of ominous populist movements in other European countries. The increase in terrorism incidents on the continent has also drawn voters to Merkel’s hard line stance of domestic security. However, should the German elections somehow take a sudden turn and Merkel fails to be re-elected as the German Chancellor, this could potentially negatively impact the trajectory of the European Union. The new Chancellor may not be as EU-friendly as Merkel or doesn’t build the same strong relationships as Merkel has with other pro-EU leaders. Should the future of Germany’s next Chancellor be enshrouded by uncertainty, financial markets will plummet violently, dragging the Euro and European stocks down with it, along with German business confidence and thus investment in Germany’s markets.
Of course, it is never easy to predict with absolute certainty the fate of an entire country. But the biggest predictor of the nation’s path is its desire for stability. While Martin Schulz offers a refreshing view of German politics, it is Angela Merkel’s familiar toughness that the people of Germany crave.
Stay tuned, viewers. The season finale has only just begun.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
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Enter Stage Far-Right: A Breakdown of the 2017 German Elections
BERLIN GERMANY - JANUARY 28 2017: German Election 2017 Politics Concept: Road Sign Schulz (SPD) or Merkel (CDU) 3d illustration
September 24, 2017
Elections and reality television have been indistinguishable as of late. The dramatic flairs painting elections in the United States, France, and the UK have all but upstaged the coming German vote. Surely, the atmosphere surrounding the 2017 German elections today is ripe with inevitability. However, while many have tuned in to more alluring political soapboxes, the contest for Germany’s next Chancellor, while lacking headlines, could not be more critical on the geo-political stage.
Setting the Stage
With eleven years of Chancellorship now under her belt, Angela Merkel has made a name for herself and her beloved Germany. Since 2005, Merkel has molded Europe’s politics and economics in her image. Despite harsh criticism from her European counterparts, Merkel pushed harder for austerity measures, tightening the fiscal reigns of southern Europe in efforts to control their staggering debts. In a time of foreign crisis forcing entire populations from their homes, Germany welcomed over one million refugees into its borders. Merkel, irate by Russia’s role in the war in Syria, rallied her fellow EU member countries to step up sanctions and pressure Putin. Given her impressive track record, all signs point to Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Christian Social Union (CSU) sister party to secure a win. No plot twist necessary.
Enter Stage Far-Right
The plot thickened when Martin Schulz, leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), resigned from his prominent position in the European Parliament to take on incumbent Angela Merkel. Upon entering the race, tangoed neck in neck, Schulz, recently christened “the German Bernie Sanders,” calls for increased taxes on the wealthy and tax relief for middle income earners. His design for Germany calls for a syphoning of its budget surplus into infrastructure investments. Also, worthy of note is Martin Schulz’s vocal distaste for the U.S. President, particularly Trump’s demonstrated apathy “to distance himself from Nazis,” and his American nuclear weapons in Germany’s borders.
Guest Starring…
The European Union. It is no secret that Germany is a massive economic player in the European Union. With the biggest and strongest economy of all EU member states, a small tremor in Germany could rattle the financial status of the other members, especially the weakest states. Along with France, Germany is the steady charioteer of European politics, and thus, critical to all Brexit negotiations. Despite the tensions between Merkel and Schulz, the two seem to agree on an uncompromising and firm policy with the UK’s looming exit from the trade bloc.
The United States. Seeing that Germany is one of America’s strongest allies, the September elections are of tremendous importance to U.S.-German relations. Merkel’s visit to the White House last March displayed clear coldness between her and President Trump, an omen of frigid gestures to come. However, Martin Schulz holds Trump in even less regard and is not shy about tearing into the President. Following Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris agreement, Schulz took to Twitter and questioned America’s President’s grasp on reality.
Everybody else. Viewers everywhere should be on the edge of their seats to see if the fiery trend of populism will spark in Germany. Populist flares soared in the past year after the Brexit vote and again for the U.S. elections. While populist passions dwindled with the losses of far-right candidates in France and the Netherlands, the movement smolders still, fueled by the hotly contested issues addressed by the German candidates. While the parties of Merkel and Schulz are by no means populist, Germany’s people demand solutions to the influx of refugees and the security crisis it may entail. For Middle Eastern and African countries ransacked by war, many refugees question the welcome they may, or may not, receive following the September elections.
Spoiler Alert
Angela Merkel and her conservative bloc seem destined to win, consistently pulling over 14 points in the polls over Martin Schulz. It becomes apparent that German citizens prefer the stability of Chancellor Merkel—especially in light of ominous populist movements in other European countries. The increase in terrorism incidents on the continent has also drawn voters to Merkel’s hard line stance of domestic security. However, should the German elections somehow take a sudden turn and Merkel fails to be re-elected as the German Chancellor, this could potentially negatively impact the trajectory of the European Union. The new Chancellor may not be as EU-friendly as Merkel or doesn’t build the same strong relationships as Merkel has with other pro-EU leaders. Should the future of Germany’s next Chancellor be enshrouded by uncertainty, financial markets will plummet violently, dragging the Euro and European stocks down with it, along with German business confidence and thus investment in Germany’s markets.
Of course, it is never easy to predict with absolute certainty the fate of an entire country. But the biggest predictor of the nation’s path is its desire for stability. While Martin Schulz offers a refreshing view of German politics, it is Angela Merkel’s familiar toughness that the people of Germany crave.
Stay tuned, viewers. The season finale has only just begun.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
