Germany

The Berlin election has sent shockwaves through the political landscape, with the fringes gaining strength whilst the centre erodes. Surprisingly, The Left has emerged as the strongest force. The Greens have fallen short of their election target and lost key districts, but are playing a central role in the formation of the government.

The candidate makes all the difference; the CDU finds itself outside parliament for the first time the Greens secure their place in the state parliament and are highly likely to become a governing party. The AfD becomes the strongest force and the sole opposition party.

The state election reflects a deep-seated division. The far right narrowly missed securing the absolute majority it had sought, thereby triggering a political earthquake. Forming a government is likely to prove difficult.

Germany’s incoming government of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats have concluded a governing ‘contract’ and will take office in May. The new chancellor, Christian Democrat Friedrich Merz, underscored in the campaign that climate protection would not be a top priority.

Despite the more difficult majorities in society and parliaments, the Greens should not spend too much time licking their wounds. Instead: open the gates and invite people everywhere to get involved in forward-looking politics.

The list of economic policy homework for the new German government is long and urgent. The possibility to form a two-party government of the Christian conservative CDU/CSU and social democratic SPD now needs to be translated into political action – in both Germany and the EU.

The Greens emerge from the election relatively stable despite losses. Formation of the political will within and outside of parties must reorganise itself. Democratic parties must remain able to compromise among themselves in order to fulfil their responsibility for the political order in Germany and beyond.

In 2023, Germany’s Federal Foreign Office and its Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development published guidelines for a feminist foreign and development policy. Political headwinds, however, are jeopardising the implementation of the concepts.