The German Bundestag election, which will have a major impact on the selection of a successor to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, will be counted on September 26th.
This election is a rare melee in history.
Who will be the prime minister to lead Germany, the great power of Europe?
We have summarized the election situation and the main political parties and candidates for the prime minister.
Social Democratic Party (SPD) leads polls
Germany's Bundestag elections are led by the centre-left "Social Democratic Union (SPD)" and the center-right "Christian Democratic Union (CDU / CSU)" to which Chancellor Angela Merkel belongs and the opposition party advocating environmental protection. The "Green Party" is following the development.
The approval ratings of the major parties in the polls are as follows:
▼ Social Democratic Party (SPD) 26%
▼ Christian Democratic Union (CDU / CSU) 22%
▼ Green Party 15%
▼ Choices for Germany (AfD) 11%
▼ Free Democratic Party (FDP) 11%
▼ Left Party 6%
(Public Broadcasting ARD September 16) In the
election campaign, in addition to the "Social Democratic Party" and "Christian Democratic Union", which are the two major political parties under Prime Minister Merkel, the opposition "Green Party" is the leader. I have been fighting over.
The Christian Democratic Union has maintained the top approval rating for a long time after the last 2017 election.
On the other hand, the approval rating of the coalition partner "Social Democratic Party" was sluggish.
On the other hand, the "Green Party" has expanded its support by advocating political reforms against the backdrop of heightened environmental awareness, and in the spring, it temporarily became the number one in terms of approval rating.
At that time, the opinion polls showed that the approval ratings were
▼ Green Party 26%,
▼ Christian Democratic Union (CDU / CSU) 23%, and
▼ Social Democratic Party (SPD) 14%
.
(ARD May 6th)
The approval rating has moved significantly since the summer, and it has become a melee battle.
However, after that, the approval rating of each party changed drastically.
The approval rating of the "Green Party" plummeted after the leader of the party, Mr. Baerbock, was found suspicious of plagiarism of his book.
The "Christian Democratic Union" has also dropped its approval rating since it was reported that Prime Minister candidate Rachette was laughing happily when he visited the flood-stricken area in July.
On the other hand, the "Social Democratic Party" is gaining popularity due to its high practical ability and sense of stability, and the approval rating has skyrocketed. ..
However, neither party can win a majority of seats on its own, and it is expected that a coalition will be required.
It is expected that the simultaneous talks will be difficult due to differences in policies.
Social Democratic Party (SPD) Mr. Scholz Although not flashy ...
Olav Schortz, a center-left Social Democratic Party prime minister candidate who plays a part in the coalition government, is 63 years old.
After serving as mayor in northern Hamburg from 2011, he has been a grand coalition government under Chancellor Angela Merkel since 2018, concurrently serving as finance and deputy prime minister.
In response to the flood that struck western Germany in July, we promptly announced a policy to provide emergency assistance to the affected areas, and took large-scale economic measures to curb the economic impact of the new coronavirus. I went.
In the election campaign, he appealed for the correction of social disparities, raised the minimum wage to 12 euros and 1500 yen in Japanese yen, raised taxes on the wealthy, and will promote climate change measures while securing employment.
Although not charismatic or flashy, he is evaluated as having abundant political experience and high practical ability, and it is pointed out that his calm and calm response is similar to that of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
In August, a photo of Merkel's favorite pose, which combines the fingertips of both hands in front of the belly to form a rhombus, was published in the local media, strengthening the appeal as being a successor to Merkel's sense of stability. I am.
However, when the G20 summit was held in Hamburg in 2017, Mr. Schortz, who was the mayor at the time, could not prevent the demonstrators who protested the summit from becoming mobs, arson and looting, and it was a crisis. I have also been asked about my management ability.
Social Democratic Party (SPD) lost big in last election
The Social Democratic Party, to which Mr. Scholz belongs, is the oldest political party in Germany, founded in the 19th century.
It is a center-left political party based on the working class, and has been responsible for German politics as one of the two major political parties, including the appointment of three people as prime ministers after the war.
The Social Democratic Party has been working to enhance social security as a party that protects the rights of workers, but during the 1998-2005 Schrader administration, the labor market forced the people to rebuild the sluggish economy. We carried out reforms.
Some say that the German economy has improved as a result of this reform, but the party's traditional supporters have moved away, saying that it has led to widening disparities.
Last time, in the 2017 federal parliamentary election, although he maintained the position of the second party, he lost the voter turnout and suffered a big defeat.
There were strong voices from within the party who opposed the participation of the administration, saying that they could not show their uniqueness because they supported the Merkel administration by forming a grand coalition with the center-right "Christian Democratic Union". After the coalition negotiations, he joined the coalition government in the fourth term of the Merkel administration.
In August of last year, Mr. Scholz, the finance minister, was elected as a candidate for prime minister, and he is aiming for the position of the first party while pushing Mr. Scholz, who is becoming more popular in the election campaign, to the front.
Mr. Rachette appeals for continuation of Merkel route
Armin Laschet, a candidate for the prime minister of the center-right ruling party "Christian Democratic Union" to which Merkel belongs, is 60 years old.
After serving as a member of the Bundestag and the European Parliament, he has been Prime Minister of the most populous western state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2017.
In January, he became the leader of the "Christian Democratic Union", appealing for the continuation of the middle road line promoted by Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Last month, Merkel said she was "the future German Chancellor," praising Mr. Rachette for always valuing the connection of people's hearts.
Mr. Rachette has a lot of political experience and is known as a coordinating type that emphasizes cooperation, but it is also pointed out that he lacks charisma and strong leadership.
In July, when I visited the area affected by the great flood that struck the local state of North Rhine-Westphalia, I was reportedly laughing happily and received strong criticism and was forced to apologize.
Christian Democratic Union towards liberals under Chancellor Angela Merkel
The Christian Democratic Union, to which Mr. Rachette belongs, is a center-right political party established in West Germany in 1945 after World War II.
It is a major political party that has been leading the postwar German politics by forming a unified faction "Christian Democratic and Social Alliance" in the federal parliament with the sister party "Christian Social Union" based only in southern Bavaria.
Former Prime Minister Adenauer, who was the first Prime Minister of West Germany, and former Prime Minister Konrad Adenauer, who was Prime Minister from 1982 to 16 years, are also politicians representing the Christian Democratic Union.
The "Christian Democratic Union" has traditionally gained support as a party that supports Germany's stability with the support base of the elderly, Christian churches, self-employed people and rural areas.
However, under Prime Minister Merkel, existing supporters have criticized the promotion of liberal policies such as accepting tolerant refugees and accepting same-sex marriage.
For the Bundestag election, we are proceeding with the election campaign by selecting the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, Rachette, who appeals for the continuation of the middle road line that Chancellor Merkel has been promoting.
Mr. Baerbock of the Green Party Temporary approval rating surge
Annalena Baerbock, a candidate for prime minister of the opposition Green Party, which advocates environmental protection, is 40 years old.
He studied political science and law at the University of Hamburg in the north, studied at the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom, and has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2013.
Since 2018, they have been the leaders of the "Green Party" together with Robert Habeck, who is also known as a writer.
Although he has no experience in managing the administration in the state or federal governments, he says he will enthusiastically work on education policy as a mother raising two daughters, including environmental policies such as accelerating coal removal.
He is also known for having participated in domestic championships as a trampoline player and won bronze medals three times. "Through sports, I have the courage to take on new challenges and overcome myself." He says.
Immediately after Mr. Baerbock was elected Prime Minister of the Greens in April, the party's approval rating in polls soared, partly due to a fresh image.
However, after that, there were a series of problems such as Mr. Baerbock not properly reporting some income to Congress, and inaccuracies in his published career were found and corrected. The alleged plagiarism was discovered in the book published in, and its popularity plummeted.
Green Party Support has expanded in recent years China has a strict stance
The "Green Party" to which Mr. Baerbock belongs was formed in West Germany in 1980, appealing for environmental protection and the realization of peace.
From 1998 to 2005, Mr. Fisher, who was a part of the coalition government under the center-left Social Democratic Party Prime Minister Gerhard Schroeder, served as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.
After that, he turned to the opposition, and even in the last parliamentary election in 2017, the voter turnout was 8.9%, remaining in the sixth party.
However, from 2018, Swedish teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg will take a break from school every Friday to appeal for climate change measures, which will lead to a youth movement called "Friday for the future". In Germany, demonstration activities were held in various places, and environmental awareness increased, and the support of the "Green Party" spread mainly in urban areas and young people.
The "Green Party" itself, once known for its extreme leftist claims, has taken the real path and is now the prime minister at the state level, being recognized as a political party capable of taking charge of the administration. became.
Calling for a 16-year renewal from the Merkel administration, the environmental policy is to accelerate the "de-coal" initiative to completely abolish coal-fired power plants by 2030, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next 20 years. In order to set a step-by-step goal, such as reducing the number of coal-fired power plants to virtually zero, and to develop infrastructure such as the railway network and charging facilities for electric vehicles, we will make an additional investment of 500 billion euros, or more than 60 trillion yen in Japanese yen, over the next 10 years. It is said.
In terms of diplomacy, it is opposed to the undersea pipeline "Nord Stream 2" for transporting Russian natural gas directly to Germany, and also to China, "Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Tibet Autonomous Region, Hong Kong, etc." We demand that we end the violation of human rights in China. "
Opposition to refugee acceptance Right-wing party "Alternative for Germany (AfD)"
"Alternative for Germany" is an emerging right-wing political party founded in 2013 by economists and business people.
At the time of its establishment, the credit instability problem in Europe was becoming more serious, so it appealed mainly to economic policies such as opposition to support for countries in financial crisis such as Greece and the dismantling of the euro area.
Since 2015, with the influx of refugees and immigrants from Syria and other countries where the civil war has intensified, the people have come to the forefront of exclusive claims such as opposition to the acceptance of refugees. It has gained support mainly in the former East Germany as a receiver of dissatisfaction.
In the last 2017 federal parliamentary election, he won 94 seats and not only made his first foray into national affairs, but also jumped to the third party and became the largest opposition party.
Consistently opposed to accepting refugees, Co-President Kurpara told local media this month that "30,000 Afghans still do not have the right to stay in Germany. They have been deported. In response to the turmoil in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US troops, he reiterated the idea that border control should be enforced.
What is the Free Democratic Party (FDP) supported by business owners?
The Liberal Democratic Party of Germany is a center-right political party founded in 1948, advocating liberalism and gaining a certain amount of support from business owners.
By forming a coalition with one of the two major political parties, the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party, it has played a part in the administration and has shown its influence.
Former Foreign Minister Genscher, who served as Foreign Minister for 18 years, the longest in postwar Germany, and contributed to the unification of East and West Germany, belonged to the Liberal Democratic Party.
Since 2009, he has joined the coalition government under Prime Minister Merkel, but he could not realize the large-scale tax cuts that he had promised in the election, and he lost support due to suspicion of donations from companies to the party in 2013. For the first time since the party was formed in the election, he lost a seat in the parliament.
In the last 2017 election, he won 80 seats, but he could not join the administration due to disagreements with the ruling party of Chancellor Angela Merkel over refugee issues and environmental policy in the coalition talks.
The FDP has been spreading support from young people after the election, arguing that the government should protect the freedom of the citizens without excessive intervention while the behavioral regulations are prolonged all over Germany over the countermeasures against the infection of the new coronavirus. We aim to play a part in the coalition government again.
Possibility of joining the left-wing coalition government
The Left Party is called "Linke", which means "Left" in German, and was founded in 2007 following the flow of the "Socialist Unity Party", which was the dictatorship in the former East Germany.
Immediately after its establishment, the image of the former East German communist party was strong, so although the approval rating was low in the area on the former West Germany side, it gradually increased its support by appealing for guarantee of minimum wage and enhancement of unemployment insurance. I did.
On the other hand, after 2015, with the influx of refugees and immigrants from Syria and other countries into Germany, the right-wing political party "Alternative for Germany", which opposes the acceptance of refugees, made a leap forward, and the elderly and workers of the former East Germany It is in the form of being deprived of traditional supporters such as layers.
In the last 2017 parliamentary election, it won 69 seats and is the third opposition party.
In this parliamentary election, it was pointed out that depending on the result, there is a possibility that the three parties will form a coalition and play a part in the administration, along with the center-left "Social Democratic Party" and the "Green Party" that appeals for environmental protection. "We are ready to take on the responsibility of the administration," Barchu, the head of the parliamentary centre-left, told reporters on the 6th of this month that he is eager to join the coalition government.