German election:

[L.A.T.1961]

A big event in Europe/EU as Merkel has dominated politics and has been given almost demigod status by supporters. 

 

https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-election-2021-essential-guide/

 

[Still Waters]

I was looking at this earlier on the BBC.

Live: Polls closing soon in unpredictable German election

Polls close at 18:00 in Germany (16:00 GMT) and the winners and losers should be clear within hours.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-58644812

[Duke Wellington]

I think it will come down to coronavirus.

If most of them think Merkel and her party did acceptable I think they will get back in under their new leader. If not it will go the other way. I think far-left and far-right may increase this election.

[L.A.T.1961]

3 minutes ago, Cookie Monster said:

I think it will come down to coronavirus.

If most of them think Merkel and her party did acceptable I think they will get back in under their new leader. If not it will go the other way. I think far-left and far-right may increase this election.

The vote is forecast to be close and voter turn out lower than the last election. 

Corona virus could be an issue but any problems with initial vaccine supply could be blamed on the EU. 

[Duke Wellington]

2 minutes ago, L.A.T.1961 said:

The vote is forecast to be close and voter turn out lower than the last election. 

Corona virus could be an issue but any problems with initial vaccine supply could be blamed on the EU. 

I`m waiting to see if there is increasing support for an anti-EU movement.

[L.A.T.1961]

2 minutes ago, Cookie Monster said:

I`m waiting to see if there is increasing support for an anti-EU movement.

That would be the AfD. polls show they have about half the support of Merkel's party.

In 2017, the AfD was the story of the election, its tally of seats in parliament jumping from 0 to 94 in what analysts described as a political earthquake for Germany.

https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-election-2021-alternative-for-germany-afd-far-right/

[TrumanB]

I have no doubt that Germans will choose stable and sensible option.

[L.A.T.1961]

BERLIN — Germany’s general election was too close to call after polls closed Sunday, with an initial projection putting the Social Democrats and the conservative CDU/CSU bloc neck and neck on 25 percent each.

The projection for public broadcaster ARD, based on exit polling, signaled that it could take hours for a clear picture to emerge.

https://www.politico.eu/article/german-election-too-close-to-call-as-polls-close/

[L.A.T.1961]

As the first exit poll flashed up on the screens inside the Konrad Adenauer Haus, the Berlin headquarters of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the party faithful who had gathered in the central courtyard fell silent.

The black bar representing their conservative party showed up first: 25%, the worst result the dominant political force of modern German politics – the party of Angela Merkel, Helmut Kohl and Adenauer – has recorded in its history.

Until today, the CDU’s low point was the 31% it gained at the first democratic vote in the postwar era, in 1949.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/26/germany-election-worst-ever-result-momentarily-silences-cdu

 

An unexpected result given Merkel's popularity, there doesn't appear to have been any magic Merkel fairy dust sprinkled on her party.

 

[acute]

I would prefer if the SPD end up with the largest share of the vote, because I don't like the look of the CDU without Merkel.

 

Edited September 26, 2021 by acute

[Duke Wellington]

The German Parliament has 730 seats.

SPD has the most seats at 205 after getting 25.8% of the vote and the CDU/CSU has 194 seats at 24.1% of the vote. That is a really poor election. Whichever one takes control will be at the head of a coalition government with at least 2 other parties.

Alternative for Deutschland has taken 84 seats at 10.5% of the vote. That puts them in control of Saxony too. Could we see Saxony break away to get out of the EU and stop mass immigration?

[Orphalesion]

11 minutes ago, Cookie Monster said:

Could we see Saxony break away to get out of the EU and stop mass immigration?

No. Fanciful nonsense like that never actually happens.

[Duke Wellington]

6 minutes ago, Orphalesion said:

No. Fanciful nonsense like that never actually happens.

Well its only been a part of Germany for just over a century.

Same with Bavaria.

[Orphalesion]

11 hours ago, Cookie Monster said:

Well its only been a part of Germany for just over a century.

Same with Bavaria.

If you want to be very technical, the modern Bundesland of Saxony has only been part of the Federal Republic of Germany for just over 30 years now...

The rest you said is only true from a certain point of view and would require to go into the intricacies of the history of Germany to an extend I can't be bothered right now. 

But any idea of Saxony seceding from Germany is still fanciful nonsense. It's not about how long they've been part of Germany or not, it's about the practical side of things; how much population, land, natural resources or trading partners would they have? How much of their livelihood is dependent on the rest of Germany and/or the European Union? What would be the problems caused by secession (political, socioeconomic, practical, like for example what about people who live in border regions and cross said border to get to their work ? What about supply chain that cross the hypothetical border?)?
All this makes any idea of a Saxon secession nonsense, no matter if some nationalists sit around and say "wouldn't it be neat if we seceded?"
There's also the fact that there is no distinctive, Saxon nationality, no distinctive language  etc that could fuel a secession movement.

Edited September 27, 2021 by Orphalesion

[Still Waters]

Germany elections: Centre-left claim narrow win over Merkel's party

Germany's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) have claimed victory in the federal election, telling the party of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel it should no longer be in power.

SPD leader Olaf Scholz said he had a clear mandate to form a government, while his conservative rival Armin Laschet remains determined to fight on.

The two parties have governed together for years.

But Mr Scholz says it is time for a new coalition with the Greens and liberals.

Preliminary results gave his party a narrow election win over the conservatives who suffered their worst-ever performance.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-58698806

[toast]

As a German I`m very lucky that Olaf Scholz did it and not Armin Laschet the clown.

[L.A.T.1961]

 

With neither of the big parties able to lay claim to a clear mandate this time, it will come down to their leaders’ negotiating acumen, as they seek to convince the two smaller parties to join them. 

Conversely, the heads of the FDP and Greens, which have sharply contrasting views on many issues, could band together themselves to decide which of the two larger parties they want to govern with. Sunday evening, neither party was prepared to say much more than that they were keeping their options open. 

“I think we can conclude from the result that we have a mandate to say we want to form the next government,” Scholz said. “The citizens want change.” 

Just what kind of change was difficult to discern from Sunday’s early returns. Both the Greens and FDP seemed destined to join the next coalition. The key question: Will they unite with the center right or the center left?

The Social Democrats would appear to have the upper hand. Not only did they finish first, but they also came from behind, improving by more than 5 percentage points on their 2017 finish. By comparison, the CDU and its Bavarian partner, the CSU, which together won about 33 percent in the last election, imploded. 

https://www.politico.eu/article/election-germany-results-limbo/

[L.A.T.1961]

Voting results show continued regional disparities in performance for the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD).

It emerged as the strongest party in the eastern German state of Thuringia, winning 24% of votes. The Social Democrats came in second at 23.4%.

In neighboring Saxony, the AfD also received the largest share of votes at 24.6%, and the SPD were also in second place there at 19.3%

https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-2021-live-updates/a-59312264

 

Merkel seat goes SPD

Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's Bundestag seat has gone to an SPD candidate for the first time in over three decades.

Merkel won Germany's most northeasterly constituency in the first free elections after German reunification in 1990, and then defended the seat in seven subsequent elections.

Twenty-seven-year-old Anna Kassautzki — who was not born when Merkel secured a direct mandate in the electoral district of Vorpommern-Rügen-Vorpommern-Greifswald I — claimed the seat on the Baltic coast with 24.3% of first votes, improving her party's performance by 12.7 percentage points.

 

Greens will talk to all parties as 'no clear mandate for government'

Annalena Baerbock congratulated the Social Democrats while also suggesting the Greens still have a significant role to play, despite coming a distant third in the overall vote.

 

Scholz proves popular for SPD voters, Laschet less so among CDU

Voters have been asked what they prioritized when casting their ballots: the manifesto/direction of their preferred party, the candidate, or a long-term commitment/allegiance.

Some 36% of SPD voters said they casted their ballot the way they did because of the candidate, Olaf Scholz.

This is in comparison with 18% of CDU voters, who seemed to give less importance their party's chancellor candidate choice, Armin Laschet.

https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-2021-tough-coalition-talks-ahead-live-updates/a-59321612

[Katzenking]

23 hours ago, toast said:

As a German I`m very lucky that Olaf Scholz did it and not Armin Laschet the clown.

I fully agree and hope that the Liberals and Greens find some common ground so that the 'Traffic light coalition' becomes possible.
After 16 years of Merkel, her party has got the lowest outcome ever. Well done Angela!
But it seems Armin Laschet the clown still thinks that he can somehow become the new leader...
It's about time for them to go into opposition.

Merkel's popularity is mainly abroad. It wouldn't be a surprise if she soon returns through the backdoor and becomes the new EU-president or UN secretary-general or something.

[L.A.T.1961]

58 minutes ago, Katzenking said:

I fully agree and hope that the Liberals and Greens find some common ground so that the 'Traffic light coalition' becomes possible.
After 16 years of Merkel, her party has got the lowest outcome ever. Well done Angela!
But it seems Armin Laschet the clown still thinks that he can somehow become the new leader...
It's about time for them to go into opposition.

Merkel's popularity is mainly abroad. It wouldn't be a surprise if she soon returns through the backdoor and becomes the new EU-president or UN secretary-general or something.

Merkel is probably too old to be considered for the top EU job, but I agree with your logic.

Many pro EU leaders expect a seat at the top table as a well paid reward in semi retirement.

Merkel has managed to cement Germany's position where the state is less important than the EU block.

It is almost as though her days in East Germany controlled by the USSR was her guiding ideology. 

[toast]

4 hours ago, Katzenking said:

But it seems Armin Laschet the clown still thinks that he can somehow become the new leader...
It's about time for them to go into opposition.

I name the clown Trump-light because he also seems to have a the same kind of perceptual disorder, by not realizing that his party has lost the election. But his days also seem to end because the inner-party resistance against him grows. He might be an acceptable politican on a very small and local scale but he will never fit to the big stage. Just imagine he sitting with Putin at a table in the Kremlin. It would not look like the Bundeskanzler is visitig Putin, it would look like Putin is special guest in the Muppet Show.