Germany faces political uncertainty after polls

Frankfurt: Germany braces for a period of political unpredictability after the Social Democrats narrowly won a general election but faced a rival claim to power from outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative camp.

For a country synonymous with stability after 16 years of Merkel’s steady leadership, the coming weeks and months promise to be a rocky ride as both Finance Minister Olaf Scholz’s SPD and the conservatives led by Armin Laschet scramble for coalition partners.

The power struggle risks putting Germany out of play in the international scene for some time, even though the upcoming COP26 climate summit will be demanding action from the world’s biggest powers.

Europe’s biggest economy will also hold the presidency of the G7 club of rich nations next year, and will need a government capable of setting the international agenda.

European markets nevertheless heaved a sigh of relief, climbing after the tight results, predicting that a government led by either the SPD or the CDU would bring continuity in economic policy.

Preliminary official results showed that the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) narrowly won the vote at 25.7%, while Merkel’s centre-right CDU-CSU bloc sunk to a historic low of 24.1%.

The Green party placed third at 14.8%, its best result yet but still short of expectations.

Laschet, 60, and Scholz, 63, both said their goal was to have a new government in place before Christmas.

Citizens “want a change in government”, said Scholz, who ran an error-free campaign that cast him as a safe pair of hands, contrasting sharply with Laschet’s series of gaffes.

“The poker game for power begins,” wrote Der Spiegel weekly.

The Sueddeutsche newspaper said the vote revealed that “Germans longed for change, but lost their nerve a bit”.

In the fractured political landscape of the post-merkel era, the most likely outcome will be a threeway alliance – ending the post-war tradition of two-party coalition governments.

Scholz and Laschet will be looking to the Greens and the liberal, pro-business FDP party (11.5%) to cobble together a parliamentary majority.

The two kingmakers however are not natural bedfellows, diverging on issues like tax hikes and public investment in climate protection.

At the forefront: (From left) Top candidate of the SPD for mayor of Berlin Franziska Giffey, Scholz and member of the SPD and governor of Mecklenburgwestern Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig, waving to the public at the party’s headquarters in Berlin.