April 18 2021 19, the current German election is in full swing of the Green Party will announce the candidate for the next prime minister. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU is also widely expected to negotiate with her sister party, the CDU, within days to produce a bipartisan candidate. The election, seen as “the most suspenseful in 16 years” as the main party candidates emerge, is about to kick off a general election that is seen as “the most suspenseful” in 16 years as Ms Merkel no longer seeks re-election.
The outbreak has not reduced the climate environmental protection boom, the Green Party election bullish
Germany’s Green Party has 21% support among voters, second only to the Alliance Party (CDU and CDU) of 28%, while ahead of the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) and other major political parties in the current government, according to the latest authoritative poll published by German television on the 16th of this month.
What do you think of the rise of the Green Party in German politics in recent years? Arne Jungjohann, a political scientist at the Heinrich Burr Foundation in Germany, told Xinhua that long before the outbreak, tackling climate change and the energy and transportation transition associated with it had leapt to the top of the list of issues of greatest concern to German voters. “Climate is a long-term issue that will not disappear as the outbreak rages or be forgotten after it ends.”
According to Arne Jungjohn, the climate issue is expected to gradually return to the center of German public opinion within the year. He points out that the “strategic advantage” of the Greens at the moment is that any possible post-election coalition will not be able to get around it , whether it is the black-green combination (coalition-Green), Jamaican (coalition, Greens, Lib Dems) or the “traffic lights” (Greens, SPD, LIB Dems).
Koo Xuewu, director of the Center for Global Studies at the University of Bonn in Germany, also pointed out that the Green Party is highly likely to take office after september’s general election. He predicts that the Greens will play an important role in Germany’s political ecology for a long time to come.
Coalition candidate: A contest between two governors
Within Ms Merkel’s coalition party, the race for the chancellor’s nomination has become hot. Recently, the CDU president, the governor of the state of NRW Rashet and the president of the CDU, Bavarian governor Zeid, have all publicly expressed their intention to run for the next prime minister.
In the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, the CDU has been active only in Bavaria, while the CDU has been politically active in all but Bavaria, with the two parties participating in successive general elections under the name of the UnionIst Party and forming a “Union Caucus” to enter the Bundestag. As is customary, the Alliance Party usually elects the CDU president as a candidate for prime minister. A total of five subsequent chancellors, including Ardenne, the first chancellor elected by federal Germany in 1949, have served as CDU presidents, followed by Ehad, Kissinger, Kohl and Merkel, while the CDU has so far failed to produce a prime minister (Ehad is Bavarian but represents the CDU).
Mr Rasheed is widely seen as the successor to Ms Merkel’s line and is favoured by the latter. After both men announced their intention to run, the CDU and CDU executives expressed their support for their respective party presidents. However, the poll puts Mr Zedd’s approval rating among ordinary voters at 44 per cent, well ahead of Mr Rasheed’s 15 per cent. Among Coalition supporters, Mr Zedd’s approval rating is as high as 72 per cent and Mr Rasheed’s at 17 per cent.
CDU Berlin branch chairman Wegner 18 to german media, said that in his view, the CDU internal majority support Zeid as a candidate for prime minister. He suggested that both parties could consider co-sponsoring Zedd as a candidate, while Mr Rasheed would remain as “strong party chairman”.
At the time of writing, Rashert and Zedd were still at odds. The coalition caucus in the Bundestag is expected to meet on the 20th to make a final decision on the prime minister’s candidacy.
Anti-epidemic and election-ridden Merkel faces a difficult balance
Since Mr Rasheed was elected CDU president in January, Ms Merkel has made few noises about the election. For now, the biggest test she faces will be how to successfully push the Bundestag to complete a law overhaul to give it more authority in the epidemic prevention process to help Germany emerge as soon as possible from the third wave of new crown outbreaks that continue to rage.
Since the draft law adopted by Merkel’s cabinet was considered by many to be contrary to the principle of federal decentralization established by Germany after World War II, the transfer of anti-epidemic powers to the Federation has not only aroused strong dissatisfaction in several states and opposition parties, but also the ruling Social Democratic Party has sharply criticized the draft.
Looking back at Merkel’s 16 years in office, she has led Germany’s response to the global financial crisis, the European debt crisis and the refugee crisis, and is still dealing with the crisis caused by the new crown outbreak. However, as the anti-epidemic cycle continues to grow, Ms Merkel has had to deal with growing discontent from all walks of life. In late March, merkel and state governors announced the “strongest blockade” for Easter after overnight talks, but only a day later came under pressure to take back their lives. Mrs Merkel had to apologise to the people.
“Given the contest over candidates at the top of the Alliance Party, the alleged corruption scandals among MPs still under investigation, and the ‘programmatic fatigue’ of more than 15 years in power, the Alliance Party is in a state of shock.” Arne Jungjohn said.
As the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung puts it, this is the “last crisis” that Ms Merkel wants to lead her country out of. And it’s not just about how people will remember her premiership, it’s about how to “save” the Coalition party.
