German election: Parties into final stretch before voting – DW (English)
As Sunday’s snap general election fast approaches, Germans face another multi-party coalition as a series of global and domestic issues loom large. DW has more.With just two days to go before Germany’s federal election, political parties are into the last leg of campaigning with not much more time to change voters’ minds.Currently, right-wing opposition parties continue leading in the polls with the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), hovering around 30% support and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AFD) trailing them with around 20%.Incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) is polling in third place with 15%, while their coalition partners, the Green Party is coming in fourth with just over 13%.This blog has now closed. Read below for a roundup of top stories in the run-up to Germany’s parliamentary election on Friday, February 21:US President Donald Trump was asked by a reporter at the White House about his thoughts on the Sunday election in Germany. During the exchange, Trump also seemed unaware of the election this weekend. “Germany has elections on Sunday. What are your thoughts? What do you expect to happen in the elections on Sunday?” the female reporter asked Trump. “Who has elections?” Trump shot back. “Germany,” the reporter replied. “I wish them luck,” Trump said. “We got our own problems.” To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 videoOther administration officials, such as US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US Vice President JD Vance, were seen laughing and smiling after the exchange. Inspired by an AfD regional campaign flyer distributing “deportation tickets” made to look like a boarding pass for “illegal immigrants,” a group in Switzerland has created a similar flyer.However, this time it’s aimed at far-right AfD co-leader and chancellor candidate Alice Weidel, a member of German parliament who lives in Switzerland.Switzerland’s Blick newspaper reported that a letter, signed by the “Swiss Association for Direct Democracy,” accompanied the ticket and begins by thanking Weidel for choosing to call Switzerland home for her multicultural, “rainbow” life with her partner, who is from Sri Lanka, and the women’s two adopted children.But the letter continues, “We patriots agree that anyone who settles in a foreign country must integrate and internalize values. Unfortunately, we have repeatedly seen that your political activities run counter to this spirit.”The ticket is made out to a “threat to democracy” to a “secure country of origin,” leaving from gate “WTF” and for travel on February 23, the day of Germany’s federal elections.On the surface, the German electoral system is similar to that of most other Western countries, although it does have its own quirks and peculiarities.Germans will have two votes: One for a candidate to represent their constituency and the second for a party’s state list, which usually lists between 10 and 30 candidates. The system is often referred to as “personalized proportional representation.”The first vote, for a direct candidate running in the respective electoral district, determines half of the federal parliament’s total composition, ensuring that each district is represented.The second vote determines the strength of the parties in the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. The more “second votes” a party gets in a state, the larger the number of seats it is granted in the Bundestag.DW explains.Germany’s Interior Ministry has warned of a Russian disinformation operation seeking to influence voters and help the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD).Ministry spokesperson Maximilian Kall said security officials had reason to suspect the Kremlin-linked “Storm-1516″ network was behind some of the online campaigns.Disinformation researchers say the network has previously produced fake videos to discredit the US election campaign of Kamala Harris, who was defeated by Donald Trump in the 2024 US presidential election.”The goal of these influence operations is to destroy confidence in democracy, to question the integrity of the electoral process,” Kall said at a Berlin press conference.The campaigns were believed to be “quite targeted at the parliamentary elections” but did not have a “wide reach,” according to Kall.One of the campaigns suggested the AfD — which is sympathetic to Russia — was being treated unfairly and involved videos falsely claiming ballots in the eastern city of Leipzig had been sent out without listing the AfD or its candidates.Kall said other false videos purported to be from the northern German city of Hamburg show what appear to be ballots for the AfD thrown in a shredder.Russia’s embassy in Berlin has yet to comment on the allegations.DW has more on suspected Russian influence in Germany’s 2025 election.Germany’s socialist Left Party (Die Linke) has seen a late poll surge heading into Sunday’s federal election.Just weeks ago, the most left-wing party in Germany was polling below the 5% threshold for reentry into parliament.However, the latest poll released Friday — conducted by pollsters Forsa on behalf of broadcasters RTL/ntv — saw support for the party rise to more than 8%.The latest poll shows the party has bounced back following the exit of key figure Sahra Wagenknecht who went on to form her own Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW).The BSW may well be fearing for its survival going into the weekend after polling at 3%, according to the Forsa survey.The Left Party has been popular among young voters with promises to fight for social justice, tax the wealthy, bring down high rates of rent and make public transport more affordable.The number of parties vying for seats in the German parliament is on the rise. While this reflects a diverse political landscape, it also brings challenges since the work of forming a stable majority and creating a functional government becomes increasingly difficult.To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 videoPro-Russian, anti-American parties could win a quarter of the votes in Germany’s upcoming federal election. Both far-right and left-wing populists oppose sanctions against Russia and want to resume imports of Russian gas. DW has more.To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 videoTwo years into an economic recession, German businesses are sounding the alarm and demanding no less than a complete overhaul of economic policy after February’s election.The German economy depends heavily on industry, which is responsible for roughly a quarter of GDP.After two years of recession, the Federation of German Industry (BDI) calculated that production output is now far lower than it was five years ago.The result: Less is produced and built in Germany, and less is bought and consumed.This is one facet of the economy the new administration will need to urgently attend to.Read more here.German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it was too early to be discussing sending German peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, a position shared by the Christian Democrats Friedrich Merz.”We are still a long way from a ceasefire and we do not know whether international troops, UN troops or whatever might play a role there, and whether it will even happen,” Scholz told public broadcaster ZDF.Scholz’s comments come against the backdrop of unraveling relations between the new US administration under President Donald Trump and Ukraine, which has opened the door for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.Scholz emphasized that Ukraine would not be “left alone” as the anniversary of Russia’s invasion approaches the three-year mark.”It can rely on Germany and Europe as a whole now that negotiations are taking place,” he said.Merz also told ZDF that it was “too early to think about” sending German troops to Ukraine.”It could be that there have to be security guarantees for Ukraine. But that is not possible as long as there is war there,” Merz said.Merz warned that Germany may no longer be able to rely on the United States’ military backing amid Trump’s insistence that Europe takes more responsibility for its defense.To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 videoGermany is likely to have another multi-coalition if new polls are anything to go by.The poll, conducted by the INSA polling institute on behalf of the Bild tabloid newspaper, put Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), steady at 30%.The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) slid by one percentage point to 21%.Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats (SPD) came in third at 15%, with the Greens close behind at 13%.Political parties have ruled out working with Alice Weidel’s AfD, meaning frontrunner Merz will need two coalition partners to form a government.Merz has vowed to give the EU-wide ban on the production of petrol and diesel vehicles from 2035 another look, something that puts him at odds with Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, the Green candidate for chancellor.”Fossil-fuelled vehicles must be phased out of new registrations after 2035, otherwise … the climate protection targets cannot be met,” Habeck told TV broadcasters RTL/ntv.”And of course we won’t go into a government where we can’t meet the climate protection targets.”Should the CSU reject a coalition with the Greens, Merz would potentially have to look to the SPD and possibly FDP to form a four-party coalition.This would be a tense alliance considering the fallout the SPD and FDP had during Scholz’s administration.Polls indicate that Germany’s upcoming vote is likely to shift the country to the right. Despite voter concerns about a sluggish economy, the election has been dominated by Germany’s migration policies, crime, the war in Ukraine and outside interference.To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 videoAhead of the February 23 snap election, Germany’s political parties have selected their top candidates. Here is the lineup.German voters elect a new government on Sunday with a series of international and domestic issues and crises taking place. DW will be tracking the major developments as well as answering your most pressing questions.Thursday night saw Chancellor candidates Christian Lindner (FDP), Alice Weidel (AfD), Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) and Jan van Aken (Left Party) touched on critical issues a debate with the top officials of the Christian Democratic Union CDU, Christian Social Union CSU, the Social Democrats SPD and the Green Party.Germany’s current foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock represented the Greens at the debate rather than chancellor candidate Robert Habeck.Debate participants dealt with a range of issues including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, NATO, conscription and healthcare policy.Today several of those candidates will rally voters at big campaign events before Sunday’s vote.
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-parties-into-final-stretch-before-voting/live-71695104
