The German election results are coming in, and one thing is clear: Angela Merkel’s coalition government lost big. The preliminary figures show: (UPDATED Monday)
CDU/CSU center right – 33.0%
SPD socialist – 20.5
Left – 9.1
FDP free democrats – 10.7
Greens – 8.9
AfD hard right – 12.6
Other – 5.0
Here we see that the German center-leftist parties (SPD socialists, Greens and Leftists) have seen their power erode further, pulling in a total of only 38.5%, while the more center-right oriented parties (Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU, FDP Free Democrats and the hard right wing AfD) pulled in near 54.3%.
Four years ago in 2013 the result was far more balanced: 51% for the center/right side and 44.9% for the center/left parties, i.e. only a 6.1% margin.
The big winners are the business-friendly libertarian FDP Free Democrats and the right wing AfD.
The shift to the right means that the brakes are likely going to be put on the Energiewende and on efforts “to rescue the climate”. FDP leader Christian Lindner has been a vocal opponent to onshore wind park approvals in rural areas and forests and has also been critical of the subsidies paid out to green energies.
Though always ready to provide lip service on behalf of climate protection, the Paris Treaty and green energies, Angela Merkel has also softened her rhetoric against fossil fuels during the campaign. When looking at Merkel’s record on the environment, it speaks much greater volumes than her words do.
Germany has not cut back on greenhouse gas emissions in 7 years.
And even though she says she remains committed to greening up the country’s energy supply, Merkel clearly has shown to be content taking a middle way between green demands and the needs of the industry.
The latest election results will likely have Merkel taking an even more pragmatic, business-friendly approach.
AfD rises
Among the big winners of the election is the right wing, anti-immigration AfD party. During the campaign the AfD was committed to eliminating subsidies to wind and solar energy, and called for more support for fossil fuels and nuclear power.
Wind power has become a substantial issue among German environmentalists as a number of them opposed to wind-park construction have sided with the AfD.
The AfD is also the only party that has dared to challenge global warming science. The emerging AfD party is a sure sign of growing opposition to Germany’s Climate Religion. Expect tougher times for green projects in the upcoming legislative period.
Tough coalition talks ahead to form new government
Environmental policy in Germany over the next four years will of course depend on the make-up of Merkel’s next government. The question that remains: Which party is Merkel going to form a coalition government with?
A coalition between her party and the business friendly FDP falls short of a majority, so expect Merkel to court the SPD into forming yet another grand coalition government. But this time don’t expect the SPD to play along, as they’ve announced they’re no longer interested.
Coalition with the Greens
So Merkel is left to try to entice the Greens to join the coalition together with the FDP. Merkel would have no qualms working with the climate-alarmist, wide-open border Greens. She’d be absolutely content leaving the Environment Ministry under the control of the Greens and putting the business-friendly FDP in charge of the Economics Ministry and letting the 2 junior parties slug it out while appearing to be above the fray for the next 4 years. That’s how Merkel works.
It’s going to be tough. The Greens have said they will accept being a coalition partner only if the CDU agrees to end coal power by 2030, a condition that hopefully the FDP will refuse.
The CDU/CSU has already excluded any chance of forming a coalition with the AfD due to “extreme right wing tendencies“. Doing so would mean the end of the love-affair the media have with Merkel.
I must add here that Merkel lost some 20% of her voters despite being coddled by the media. The vote result should be seen as a message against the media as well.
Here’s an interesting article by Lubos Motl about a duplicitous Czech politician, signalling his support for Frau Merkel and her polcies, despite claiming to oppose them at home.
https://motls.blogspot.com/2017/09/relativization-of-gender-inflection-is.html
I had to cut to the end for the punch line, because I’m not able to absorb his lesson in the Czech language, though I do plan to go back to it when a bit more able to focus.
And that’s another reason why I find European politics so confusing, because in order to understand that of one country, you also have to know what’s going on with it’s neighbors, who all speak different languages and seem to have different political systems.
But the global elitists are blind (including those controlling MSM), and that is only serving to fuel extremists on both sides.
Europe faces a bumpy ride.
Yes, Europe is facing a bumpy ride.
Disappointing to see that so many still voted Green.
Actually, it will possibly lead to more Green nonsense. Merkel might well form a coalition including the Greens. The SPD and the AfD are definitely not going to be part of it so it leaves her with little choice.
More democracy for Europe. Germany dictates pretty well everything that the EU does – or does not do. Merkel only got 32.9% of votes and yet she rules Europe. What a farce!
I would offer the greens the job of being in charge of the LOCAL environment, a bit of a culture shock for many of them, only too happy to trash the local environment in pursuit of their real agendas. Could we see a “green” reject a wind farm application on environmental grounds? Nah, only dreaming.
The analysis I’ve read suggests that the proposed “Jamaica” coalition won’t fly because the FDP and CSU won’t accept Green demands on environmental policy. This means either new elections or a minority government.
Despite the lack of precedent in Germany, minority governments can work quite well. A more stable arrangement can be made by offering a third party (perhaps the SPD) some policy concessions in exchange for a pledge not to defeat the government for two years. That at least should stop a cycle of repeated elections in a country that lacks consensus at present.