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Berlin:
Polling stations in Germany are open on Sunday for crucial snap-national elections, which are expected to see conservatives regain and the extreme right-wing scoring of the best result ever, because the ailing economic powerhouse in Europe is straightforward. After weeks of campaigns being dominated by the tough economy of Germany and a succession of fatal attacks that have made migration and security a focus problem, Germans vote to choose a government that breaks down the Transatlantic Alliance under the US President Donald Trump and New has to tackle threats for European safety, in the mood that has been closely viewed in Europe and America.
Voting started at 8:00 am (0700 GMT) with more than 59 million Germans who are eligible for the issuing of ballot papers and first estimates based on exit surveys expected after elections at 6:00 pm (1700 GMT).
Friedrich Merz, the 69-year-old conservative leader, has consistently led polls to become the next Chancellor of Germany. He promised to solve the most problems in four years – quite a challenge for the largest economy in Europe and a cracking infrastructure.
If the Christian Democrats of Merz (CDU) win, he will have to forge an alliance with at least one other party, probably the social -democrats of Olaf Scholz, whose government collapsed at the end of last year.
Government formation
However, negotiations after the wrist coalition will not be difficult after a campaign that has exposed sharp division over migration and how to deal with the alternative to Germany (AfD) in a country where extreme right -wing politics has a particularly strong stigma because of its Nazi past.
That could leave unpopular Chancellor Olaf Scholz for months in a role of caregiver, which urgently needs necessary policy to breathe new life into the largest economy in Europe after two consecutive years of contraction and while companies are struggling against global rivals. It would also create a leadership vacuum in the heart of Europe, even if it takes up a large number of challenges, including the threats of US President Donald Trump for a trade war and attempts to accelerate a cease-fire deal for Ukraine without without European involvement.
Germany, which has an export -oriented economy and is based on the US for a long time because of its safety, is particularly vulnerable. Germans are now more pessimistic about their standard of living than at any time since the financial crisis in 2008. The percentage that says their situation is improving, fell sharply from 42 percent in 2023 to 27 percent in 2024, according to Pollster Gallup.
The attitude towards migration has also been paved, a profound shift in the German public sentiment since the “Refugees Welcome” culture during the migrant crisis of Europe in 2015.
Coalition -Options
EU federation are cautiously hopeful that the elections can yield a more coherent government that is able to help policy at home and in the block. Some also hope that Merz will reform the ‘Debtdrem’, a constitutional mechanism to limit government loans that, according to critics, has strangled new investments.
The most likely outcome of these elections, said analysts, is a connection of Merz’s conservative block of Christian Democrats (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) with the SPD, which gauges in a different uncomfortable “Grand Coalition”, According to a report from Reuters.
However, polls suggest that a three -way coalition may still be needed if different small parties make the 5 percent threshold to enter the parliament and complicate conversations.
“Many of my friends will probably vote for the conservatives because this government did not work so well and the international status of Merz is reasonably good,” Mike Zeller, 26, told Reuters.
“I just hope that enough parties agree with a government so that they can leave the AfD.”
Rise of the far right
Sunday’s elections follows the collapse last November of Scholz’s coalition of his Center-Link Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and Pro-Market Free Democrats (FDP) in a row for the budget expenditure. The SPD is on its way to its worst result since the Second World War.
The election campaign is dominated by fierce exchanges about the perception that irregular immigration gets out of hand, fed by a series of attacks in which the suspected perpetrators of migrants originated.
It is also overshadowed by the unusually powerful show of solidarity by members of the Trump government -including vice president JD Vance and tech billionaire Elon Musk -for the anti -migrants AfD and widths against European leaders.
The 12-year-old AfD is on schedule to come in second place in a national election for the first time.
However, it is unlikely that the AFD for the time being, because all regular parties have excluded it, although some analysts believe that it could pave the way for a AfD victory in 2029. Still, his strength, along with a small vote the share For the extreme left and the decline of the large tent parties of Germany, the formation of coalitions and governance is increasingly complicated.