Germany's left-leaning Social Democratic Party (SPD) won the largest share of the vote in Sunday's federal election, putting them in pole position to form the country's next coalition government -- but they could be in for some tricky negotiations.
Read more at:
Five key takeaways from Germany's historic election
Showing posts with label SPD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SPD. Show all posts
9/1/19
German elections: Far-right AfD falls short of first place in both German state elections – by Claire Stam
The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) achieved historical
gains in crucial elections in the eastern German states of Saxony and
Brandenburg but Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU and its socialist
coalition partner remain the strongest political parties, allowing the
current grand coalition to hold until 2021.
Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) remain the strongest party in Saxony with 32% (down from 39,4% in the last elections in 2014), with the AfD and the German Greens (Bündnis90/Die Grünen) achieving their best election results in the history of Saxony regional elections (respectively 27,3% and 8,8% vs 9,7% and 5,7%). The Social-Democrats (SPD) came out with a record low of 7,9%, compared to 12,4% five years ago.
In Brandenburg, the state neighbouring Berlin, the SPD held on to the top spot with 27.2%, albeit down from 31.9% in the previous election in 2014, while the AfD rose to 22,7%, up from 12,2% in the last elections, and the Greens reached 10,2%, from 6,2% five years ago.
Left-Wing Die Linke, which has historically performed well in eastern Germany, turns out to be a big loser in both states where voters who traditionally chose the party as a form of protest clearly migrated to the AfD.
Read more: Far-right AfD falls short of first place in both German state elections – EURACTIV.com
Support EU-Digest, which has reported the news without any political affiliation since 2004, and opposes those who seek to discredit news organizations who believe in the right of a free Press, by investing in an advertisement, or by giving a donation to keep our efforts going : to donate or advertise click on: https://www.paypal.com/webapps/hermes?token=8BP18304C1657151J&useraction=commit&mfid=1567106786154_8591ae1288ebf
Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) remain the strongest party in Saxony with 32% (down from 39,4% in the last elections in 2014), with the AfD and the German Greens (Bündnis90/Die Grünen) achieving their best election results in the history of Saxony regional elections (respectively 27,3% and 8,8% vs 9,7% and 5,7%). The Social-Democrats (SPD) came out with a record low of 7,9%, compared to 12,4% five years ago.
In Brandenburg, the state neighbouring Berlin, the SPD held on to the top spot with 27.2%, albeit down from 31.9% in the previous election in 2014, while the AfD rose to 22,7%, up from 12,2% in the last elections, and the Greens reached 10,2%, from 6,2% five years ago.
Left-Wing Die Linke, which has historically performed well in eastern Germany, turns out to be a big loser in both states where voters who traditionally chose the party as a form of protest clearly migrated to the AfD.
Read more: Far-right AfD falls short of first place in both German state elections – EURACTIV.com
Support EU-Digest, which has reported the news without any political affiliation since 2004, and opposes those who seek to discredit news organizations who believe in the right of a free Press, by investing in an advertisement, or by giving a donation to keep our efforts going : to donate or advertise click on: https://www.paypal.com/webapps/hermes?token=8BP18304C1657151J&useraction=commit&mfid=1567106786154_8591ae1288ebf
3/4/18
2/11/18
Germany: Merkel calls for younger ministers in new government
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for younger members of her party to fill ministerial positions in the new government.
She also defended "painful" concessions made to the the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) to clinch a coalition deal.
The deal followed months of wrangling after an inconclusive election.
However it still needs to be approved by the SPD's 460,000 members, with the result due in March.
On Friday SPD leader Martin Schulz abandoned a plan to serve as foreign minister in the new government, saying he did not want debate about his role to jeopardise the new coalition.
"Now we need to show that we can start with a new team," Mrs Merkel said. The CDU has six ministerial posts to fill.
Read more: Germany: Merkel calls for younger ministers in new government - BBC News
2/7/18
Germany: EU relieved after Merkel clinches grand coalition deal - by Eric Maurice
Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) and Social Democratic
Party (SPD) concluded a coalition agreement on Wednesday (7 February),
taking a step closer to ending a five-month long period of political
limbo in Berlin.
The deal, under which the two partners will share what they considered as the most crucial ministries for themselves, will however to be approved by SPD members in the coming weeks.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats will occupy the ministries of interior, defence, agriculture, economy and health.
The sensitive interior portfolio - with the management of migration policies - was expected to go to Horst Seehofer, the leader of the CSU, the CDU's Bavarian branch. Seehofer, a hardliner, has been one of the main opponents of Merkel's migration policy since 2015.
Peter Altmeier, one of Merkel's closest allies, and finance minister since September, was expected to become economy and energy minister.
The finance ministry has been attributed to the SPD, with Hamburg's mayor Olaf Schorf being the favourite for the post, also as vice-chancellor.
Social Democrats will also get the ministries of labour and social affairs, justice, as well as foreign affairs for Martin Schulz, Merkel's opponent in the elections last September.
Schulz meanwhile will quit the SPD leadership and be replaced by Andrea Nahles, the leader of the party's group in the Bundestag.
Read more: - EU relieved after Merkel clinches grand coalition deal
The deal, under which the two partners will share what they considered as the most crucial ministries for themselves, will however to be approved by SPD members in the coming weeks.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats will occupy the ministries of interior, defence, agriculture, economy and health.
The sensitive interior portfolio - with the management of migration policies - was expected to go to Horst Seehofer, the leader of the CSU, the CDU's Bavarian branch. Seehofer, a hardliner, has been one of the main opponents of Merkel's migration policy since 2015.
Peter Altmeier, one of Merkel's closest allies, and finance minister since September, was expected to become economy and energy minister.
The finance ministry has been attributed to the SPD, with Hamburg's mayor Olaf Schorf being the favourite for the post, also as vice-chancellor.
Social Democrats will also get the ministries of labour and social affairs, justice, as well as foreign affairs for Martin Schulz, Merkel's opponent in the elections last September.
Schulz meanwhile will quit the SPD leadership and be replaced by Andrea Nahles, the leader of the party's group in the Bundestag.
Read more: - EU relieved after Merkel clinches grand coalition deal
1/12/18
Germany: German coalition talks reach breakthrough: A look at what comes next
The all-nighter appears to have focused minds: Germany's two biggest
political parties — the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social
Democratic Party (SPD) — announced on Friday morning that they had made a breakthrough in their exploratory talks, paving the way to formal coalition negotiations and, if all goes to plan, another iteration of the grand coalition.
The new agreement represents an important stage victory in the marathon negotiations for Chancellor Angela Merkel, who would certainly prefer a grand coalition to the other two options currently on the table: heading an unstable minority government, or a new election.
Should the negotiations with the SPD fail, a new election could well usher in the end of Merkel's time in office, as her CDU attempts to revive its fortunes following its worst election results ever. Her party took 32.9 percent in September's election, a drop of 8.6 percentage points on the 2013 result. This has resulted in much self-reflection in the party, along with speculation that Merkel's era was drawing to a close — and even debate about potential successors.
Read more: German coalition talks reach breakthrough: A look at what comes next | Germany| News and in-depth reporting from Berlin and beyond | DW | 12.01.2018
The new agreement represents an important stage victory in the marathon negotiations for Chancellor Angela Merkel, who would certainly prefer a grand coalition to the other two options currently on the table: heading an unstable minority government, or a new election.
Should the negotiations with the SPD fail, a new election could well usher in the end of Merkel's time in office, as her CDU attempts to revive its fortunes following its worst election results ever. Her party took 32.9 percent in September's election, a drop of 8.6 percentage points on the 2013 result. This has resulted in much self-reflection in the party, along with speculation that Merkel's era was drawing to a close — and even debate about potential successors.
Read more: German coalition talks reach breakthrough: A look at what comes next | Germany| News and in-depth reporting from Berlin and beyond | DW | 12.01.2018
12/20/17
Germany: Formation new Government; Merkel and Schulz aim to wrap up initial talks by mid-January – by Janosch Delcker
Angela Merkel’s conservatives and Martin Schulz’s Social
Democrats want to wrap up their first inner-circle talks on forming
Germany’s next coalition government by January 12, in what will be the
chancellor’s last chance to form a stable government.
Top party officials from Merkel’s CDU, its Bavarian sister party the CSU, and Schulz’s SPD met Wednesday to discuss the timeline of the talks. They agreed exploratory talks would begin on January 7, with negotiators hoping to present the results to their party faithful five days later. Schulz
had tweeted Tuesday that he did not expect the talks to take off until after a CSU party summit on January 6.
“It was a good conversation in an atmosphere based on trust,” the three parties said in a joint statement about the meeting.
Read more: Merkel and Schulz aim to wrap up initial talks by mid-January – POLITICO
Top party officials from Merkel’s CDU, its Bavarian sister party the CSU, and Schulz’s SPD met Wednesday to discuss the timeline of the talks. They agreed exploratory talks would begin on January 7, with negotiators hoping to present the results to their party faithful five days later. Schulz
had tweeted Tuesday that he did not expect the talks to take off until after a CSU party summit on January 6.
“It was a good conversation in an atmosphere based on trust,” the three parties said in a joint statement about the meeting.
12/17/17
Germany′s Angela Merkel and SPD assess chances for grand coalition
Chancellor Angela Merkel, leader of Germany's conservative Christian
Democrats (CDU), is set to meet Social Democrats (SPD) leader Martin
Schulz on Wednesday evening for the first unmediated discussions about
whether to extend the country's current "grand coalition" government.
After their worst electoral performance in post-war German history, the SPD is wary about signing on for another stint as the junior partners to the CDU, along with their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU). Indeed, Schulz twice categorically dismissed another grand coalition before being forced to change his position.
"It certainly wasn't a very good idea to rule out entering into another grand coalition so soon," political scientist Lothar Probst of Bremen University told DW. "But naturally the SPD still feels the pains of two grand coalitions in nine years, and many members of the grass roots — and not only there — feel that another one would be to their detriment."
Read more: Germany′s Angela Merkel and SPD assess chances for grand coalition | Germany | DW | 13.12.2017
After their worst electoral performance in post-war German history, the SPD is wary about signing on for another stint as the junior partners to the CDU, along with their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU). Indeed, Schulz twice categorically dismissed another grand coalition before being forced to change his position.
"It certainly wasn't a very good idea to rule out entering into another grand coalition so soon," political scientist Lothar Probst of Bremen University told DW. "But naturally the SPD still feels the pains of two grand coalitions in nine years, and many members of the grass roots — and not only there — feel that another one would be to their detriment."
Read more: Germany′s Angela Merkel and SPD assess chances for grand coalition | Germany | DW | 13.12.2017
12/1/17
Germany Facing a Return to the Grand Coalition
On Thursday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier received the
two party leaders for a long discussion, but even in the days leading up
to that meeting, it had become clear that the two were eagerly burying
the hatchet to lay the groundwork for a possible coalition. Schulz and
Merkel, together with Horst Seehofer, who leads the Bavarian
conservatives, now intend to explore the possibility of slapping
together another governing coalition - the same "grand coalition" that
voters so clearly rejected in the general election in late September.
As a group, Germans are thought to value political stability. But a repeat of the SPD-conservative coalition is the kind of stability that wouldn't be good for the country. The last four years have shown that a grand coalition is a static alliance, one that is good at spending money but not as adept at moving projects forward - aside from the project of right-wing populism, of course.
Deputy SPD head Olaf Scholz said recently that a rebirth of the grand coalition would "have negative consequences for our democracy." It would also mean that the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) would be the strongest party in opposition. That means it would always have the privilege in parliament of delivering the first rebuttal to Merkel's speeches.
Nevertheless, for the leaders of the parties involved, a grand
coalition isn't completely unattractive
\
For Merkel, it represents the best opportunity to secure her power, a motive that has long been important to her. And SPD head Martin Schulz already seems to be practicing the arguments he hopes to use at next week's party congress to convince unwilling delegates of the utility of another alliance with Merkel's conservatives.
Read more: Germany Facing a Return to the Grand Coalition - SPIEGEL ONLINE
As a group, Germans are thought to value political stability. But a repeat of the SPD-conservative coalition is the kind of stability that wouldn't be good for the country. The last four years have shown that a grand coalition is a static alliance, one that is good at spending money but not as adept at moving projects forward - aside from the project of right-wing populism, of course.
Deputy SPD head Olaf Scholz said recently that a rebirth of the grand coalition would "have negative consequences for our democracy." It would also mean that the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) would be the strongest party in opposition. That means it would always have the privilege in parliament of delivering the first rebuttal to Merkel's speeches.
\
For Merkel, it represents the best opportunity to secure her power, a motive that has long been important to her. And SPD head Martin Schulz already seems to be practicing the arguments he hopes to use at next week's party congress to convince unwilling delegates of the utility of another alliance with Merkel's conservatives.
Read more: Germany Facing a Return to the Grand Coalition - SPIEGEL ONLINE
11/24/17
Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel moves left as German politics realign
Earlier this year, with the far-right populist Alternative for
Germany (AfD) coming off a string of regional election triumphs, most
observers expected Angela Merkel to become more conservative. Some
within her own parliamentary bloc indeed demanded she do just that. But the opposite has happened. If anything, the chancellor and the CDU-CSU have maneuvered further left.
Part of the reason is the dictates of electoral numbers. The results of the September 24 national election meant that, with the extremes of the AfD and the Left party being deemed off-limits, Merkel's only viable coalitions involve either the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) or the left-wing environmentalist Greens. There is no non-left path to power.
But changes to political culture and Merkel's own personal inclinations have also encouraged realignment and effectively shifted the center further to the left. It was part of the accepted wisdom in Germany in the last 30 years that the conservatives' natural allies were the business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP), which has leaned towards the conservatives as coalition partner since the early 1980s, but had been in a coalition with the SPD before that.
Read more: Chancellor Angela Merkel moves left as German politics realign | In Depth | DW | 24.11.2017
Part of the reason is the dictates of electoral numbers. The results of the September 24 national election meant that, with the extremes of the AfD and the Left party being deemed off-limits, Merkel's only viable coalitions involve either the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) or the left-wing environmentalist Greens. There is no non-left path to power.
But changes to political culture and Merkel's own personal inclinations have also encouraged realignment and effectively shifted the center further to the left. It was part of the accepted wisdom in Germany in the last 30 years that the conservatives' natural allies were the business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP), which has leaned towards the conservatives as coalition partner since the early 1980s, but had been in a coalition with the SPD before that.
Read more: Chancellor Angela Merkel moves left as German politics realign | In Depth | DW | 24.11.2017
11/23/17
Germany's Schulz under pressure to enter coalition talks- by Eszter Zalan
Pressure is increasing on Martin Schulz, leader of the German Social
Democrats (SPD) to end the political stalemate in Germany and enter
coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats.
The SPD leader will meet the country's president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, himself hailing from the SPD, on Thursday (23 November).
Steinmeier has been meeting party leaders following the collapse of coalition talks on Sunday between Merkel's political bloc, the pro-business Free Democrats and the Greens.
Merkel said she would prefer snap elections than leading a minority government following the Free Democrats walkout from coalition talks on Sunday night.
Schulz, who ran against Merkel in the general elections, first ruled out re-entering a grand-coalition with Merkel's CDU/CSU that left the SPD with its worst election result since the second world war.
Read more: Germany's Schulz under pressure to enter coalition tal
The SPD leader will meet the country's president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, himself hailing from the SPD, on Thursday (23 November).
Steinmeier has been meeting party leaders following the collapse of coalition talks on Sunday between Merkel's political bloc, the pro-business Free Democrats and the Greens.
Merkel said she would prefer snap elections than leading a minority government following the Free Democrats walkout from coalition talks on Sunday night.
Schulz, who ran against Merkel in the general elections, first ruled out re-entering a grand-coalition with Merkel's CDU/CSU that left the SPD with its worst election result since the second world war.
Read more: Germany's Schulz under pressure to enter coalition tal
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)