Mary Merkenich looks at the good, bad and ugly aspects of the German federal election results.
Social Democratic Party (SPD)
The Social Democratic Party's platform to raise the minimum wage and for single-tier health insurance resonated with voters and contrasted with the left's failure. Sibylle Kaczorek reports.
After 60 days of discussions, negotiations for a new governing coalition have failed in Germany, leaving the country without a government.
Last September’s general election – in which the far-right obtained an unprecedented and alarming result – left no party with an absolute majority, forcing incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel to look for partners to form a new government.
The picture that emerges from the German elections, held on September 24, is cause for concern on multiple fronts — especially in the surge to the neo-Nazi Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Alongside Chancellor Angela Merkel winning a fourth term and the clear defeat of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the shadow of a resurgent neo-Nazism casts a serious threat not only for Germany itself, but all of Europe.