German elections: voters decide who will take the reins after Merkel

The fight to succeed longtime People’s Chancellor Angela Merkel could hardly be any closer as Germans vote in parliamentary elections.

The streets of Berlin host the annual marathon, but the biggest race takes place across the country.

In a latest wave of votes, the outgoing chancellor joined Conservative candidate Armin Laschet at a rally on Saturday in his hometown of Aachen.

Final opinion polls suggest an unlikely victory could be within their grasp.

At stake is the leadership of Europe’s most powerful economy, and more than 60 million Germans over the age of 18 have the right to vote.

Polling stations opened at 8:00 a.m. local time (06:00 GMT) on Sunday. A clear indication will come when voting ends at 6:00 p.m.

This unpredictable election has been put on hold until Merkel steps into the fray, her career at the top of German politics now weeks away from its end.

“It really matters who is in power,” she warned voters repeatedly in the 48 hours before the vote. His message was that Germany needed stability and its youth needed a future – and Armin Laschet was the man to provide it.

All bets are raised

Many uncertainties hover over this election. Looking ahead, more than a third of voters still did not know who to vote for, although a record number have already published their votes.

Calling on all Germans to vote, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: “Whoever participates will be heard, whoever does not vote lets others decide for him.

For months, opinion polls have swung one way or the other. The conservative CDU and its Bavarian sister party were in the lead at first, and at one point the Greens came out on top, but then there was a rise of the Social Democrats under Olaf Scholz.

Of the three candidates vying for the post of chancellor, it was Mr. Scholz who galvanized voters the most. As Merkel’s deputy, it has been easier for him than for his conservative rival to be seen as the continuity candidate.

But even if he wins, he will most likely need the support of two other parties to form a coalition.

“The most important coalition for me is with the voters, because the more they strengthen the SPD, the easier it will be for me to form a government,” he said.

The climate crisis is the key

For the Greens, this is their biggest moment yet. Climate change is currently the biggest problem for German voters and the party has only voted over 10% once in a federal election.

But their top candidate, Annalena Baerbock, lost her support over the summer, despite catastrophic flooding that left at least 190 people dead and left a trail of destruction in two of the most populous states.

Judging by a random sample of people in Berlin’s sprawling Alexanderplatz on Saturday, even though climate change is their highest priority, they think the other parties are well capable of tackling it, too.

Conservative Armin Laschet told voters on Saturday it was time to speed up the switch to renewables: “We are too slow in Germany.

Action to tackle climate change must be fair and equitable, said German activist Luisa Neubauer.

The liberal FDP may disagree with the Greens on many points, but on climate change they are also attracting young voters. Both sides have a good chance of being in government and both could be kingmakers.

“The next government is the last which can still have an active influence on the climate crisis,” Annalena Baerbock warned the Germans during one of the last televised debates, so the Greens should be part of it, she said. .

But liberal leader Christian Lindner does not believe that Germany should follow the same path as the Greens.

Not over until it’s over

Even if a clear winner emerges on Sunday evening, the Germans will not know the makeup of their government for some time.

The winning party has yet to form a coalition and it seems unlikely that a repeat of the current bipartisan grand coalition will happen again.

This is why the Germans speak of coalitions at traffic lights, Jamaica or Kenya, reflecting the different color combinations of the parties potentially involved.

If it’s the left center, look for red, yellow, and green; if it’s the conservatives, it could be black, yellow, and green.

Until this is all sorted out, Angela Merkel is not going anywhere.