An era came to an end on Sunday.

Angela Merkel will soon no longer be Federal Chancellor, of course, but have we also seen the end of the popular parties?

Taken together, the SPD and Union have not even been elected by one in two.

Forming a government is becoming more difficult, and alliances with three partners are necessary.

Timo Steppat

Editor in politics.

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In the Netherlands they have experience with it.

The big parties were "pulverized" over 20 years ago, and the party system is fragmented.

19 parties are in parliament.

The country is ruled anyway.

What can we learn from the Dutch in Germany?

I am talking about this with a former advisor to the Prime Minister and an intimate expert on Dutch politics, Paul Schnabel.

Jasper von Altenbockum, head of domestic affairs at the FAZ, does not believe in the end of the popular parties.

He explains that to us on the show.

We talk to Christoph Ploß, the Hamburg CDU chairman.

He calls for staff to be rejuvenated within the Union.

"No government mandate"

“It is absolutely clear that we will have to renew our staff after such a result. That younger people also have to take responsibility, ”Ploß told the FAZ podcast for Germany. The election was a "bitter defeat" for the CDU. “This result is not a mandate to form a government. It's a result that needs to make us feel a little humble. From my point of view, the ball now lies with the FDP and the Greens, who have to decide with whom they want to form a coalition. We are ready, ”said Ploß. However, according to Ploß, the reorganization should only take place when it is clear whether the Union will belong to the next federal government. A stronger profile in terms of content is needed.

“We need new minds who embody that to the outside world”.

Ploß named the chairman of the SME Union, Carsten Linnemann, as an example.

Too little attention was paid to “what the voters want”.

It was thought too much in terms of access rights and national associations.

“These are not categories in which voters think.

In the end, the voters want to vote for a person who they consider fit for chancellor. ”That was not the case with Armin Laschet.

"It couldn't have gone much worse," said Ploß to the FAZ podcast for Germany.

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