Not so long ago, Germany witnessed a dramatic change in policy with the results of the recent election. This election saw the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and their allied parties lose the majority of seats to the opposition. The early election itself was initiated early after the government coalition composed of the SPD, Greens, and Free Democratic Party (FDP) collapsed due to dispute over economic policies. The result was FDP moving to the opposition and Christian Lidner, the finance minister and head of the FDP being dismissed. As a result, the government became the minority in the Bundestag compared to the opposition. After a no confidence vote, the elections were held early.
The election results will see the size of the Bundestag decrease from 733 to 630. The election also saw the FDP lose all their seats in the Bundestag after failing to win any directly elected seats and falling short of the 5 percent required to qualify for representation. The Christian Democratic Union of Germany and The Christian Social Union in Bavaria or CDU/CSU will be the majority after SPD lost 87 seats. Arguably, the most significant result of this election is the rapid growth of the far right wing party Alternative for Germany or AfD. During this election, the party had grown into the second largest in the Bundestag, and it is a sign of changing times.
After the Second World War, many Germans vowed never to repeat the events that occurred. However, this current election has seen right wing politics become the dominant force in Germany. This change is a result of the failures of the current government coalition, and the growing desire to combat modern challenges with alternative radical solutions. The two main struggles in modern-day Germany are the immigration crisis and economy. The various conflicts in the Middle East and around the world has resulted in Germany receiving an overabundance of immigrants and asylum seekers. At the time of the 2015 European migrant crisis, Germany took in the large majority of immigrants, with over 440,000 asylum applications during 2015. However, the initial hospitality has resulted in Germany being overwhelmed, and has resulted in many calling for stricter regulations on immigration. The economy has also faced a decline due to Russian sanctions which has led to a scarcity of natural gases. Furthermore, growing competition from China’s automotive and technology industries has caused further decline. The failure of the government coalition has led many to turn to more extreme right wing politics such as the AfD.
The future of Germany hangs in the balance as the country is witnessing a greater surge in right wing politics, particularly in the AfD. The rapid growth of the AfD has drawn a haunting resemblance to the infamous Nazi party, both extreme right wing parties that promised radical solutions to handle the failures of the country. The future of Germany is heading towards one that embraces the far right. The failures of the current more moderate parties has caused many to believe that more radical measures must be taken. The irony within all of this is that the very politics and ideas that were vowed to never to repeat has found itself back into mainstream politics in a more moderate form. The future itself is uncertain for this country. However, the results of the German election have highlighted a deep failure for German leaders to address and fix the problems that many have suffered. This growth is a statement of many German people, who are tired of the many failures under their leaders and their parties. Unless the current government coalition can properly address and fix these problems, the world could soon bear to witness a far right, more radicalized, new Germany.