Hard Truths Grip Germany

As widely expected, no German political party obtained the majority of seats in Wednesday’s election, more or less in line with what opinion polls had been indicating one after another. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU)-Christian Social Union (CSU) alliance polled 28.6 per cent of votes, while the outgoing Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) trailed behind with only 16 per cent of votes, that is, nine per cent less than in the previous election. Not surprising but highly significant was the relatively new Alternative for Germany (AfD) that polled nearly 21 per cent of votes, almost twice its previous record in 2021.