China News Service, September 28, reported that according to the preliminary vote count, the German Social Democratic Party narrowly defeated the conservative coalition party that has been in power for 16 years in the national election.
With the fierce battle for allies between the two sides, the next cabinet negotiation may be extremely difficult, and Germany will enter an unpredictable period.
On the other hand, as German Chancellor Merkel is about to step down, coupled with Germany's short-term focus on domestic politics, this may lead to a leadership vacuum in Europe.
On September 26, local time, pedestrians passed the billboard of Schultz, the candidate for Prime Minister of the Social Democratic Party on the streets of Berlin.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Peng Dawei
The two major parties compete for allies
Negotiations for cabinet formation are extremely difficult
According to the preliminary vote count, the Social Democratic Party's vote rate was 25.7%, and the Union Party's vote rate was 24.1%, which is also the worst record in the history of the Union Party.
The Green Party ranked third with 14.8%, the best performance ever; the Liberal Democratic Party ranked fourth with 11.5%.
Although the Social Democratic Party is ahead of the Coalition Party, neither party has more than half of the votes. It needs to unite with other parties to form a coalition government.
The center-left Social Democratic Party stated that German voters "clearly authorized" the party to lead the new government; but the Coalition Party is not prepared to admit defeat, and it stated that it will strive to continue to lead Germany.
With the fierce battle for allies between the two sides, the cabinet formation negotiations may be extremely difficult and protracted, and Germany will enter an unpredictable period.
Both the Social Democratic Party and the Coalition Party hope that a new government can be formed before Christmas.
The SPD candidate for Prime Minister Scholz emphasized that he will lead the next government and has appointed a six-member negotiating team to start alliance negotiations as soon as possible.
On September 26, local time, pedestrians passed the billboard of the Berlin Street Union Prime Minister candidate Raschett.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Peng Dawei
Although morale is low because of the possibility of becoming an opposition party, but the coalition party prime minister candidate Raschelt pointed out that the prime minister does not necessarily come from the party with the first vote.
"I hope to form a government where all partners are involved and everyone can get attention, not a government where only the prime minister can show the limelight."
Due to differences in opinions on environmental and fiscal policies, the Green Party and the Liberal Democratic Party plan to conduct bilateral talks first to find areas where they can compromise with each other, and then negotiate with the Social Democratic Party or the Coalition Party to form a cabinet.
However, several media outlets including the Frankfurt Review stated that the two major parties are not far apart, and it is not clear who Scholz and Raschelt can become prime ministers.
The Danish newspaper The Politician also commented: “Who will become the next chancellor of Germany is currently completely unpredictable. There are indications that it will take weeks or even months to complete the formation of the ruling coalition...”
German voters "eager for change but timid"
Europe may see a leadership vacuum in the short term
Regarding this election, no party has won a significant advantage. The German "Southern Metropolis Daily" described: "Germany is eager to change, but it is a little timid."
The Belgian Times believes that "willful" German voters have made cabinet-forming negotiations extremely difficult.
"No matter which political parties are ultimately involved, as long as Germany can complete the cabinet formation negotiations as soon as possible, it will be a safe signal for Europe. However, this does not ensure the stability that all parties are looking forward to. All signs show that Germany's consensus Society no longer exists. This is not good news for Germany or Europe."
The analysis said that with the resignation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been in power for 16 years, Germany and Europe will lose a leader with political prestige and cohesion. In addition, Germany will focus on domestic politics in the short term, which may lead to There is a leadership vacuum in Europe.
The European Commission is concerned about the results of the comparable elections between the two major parties in Germany, and believes that the formation of a new federal government may take some time, which may mean that major decisions at the EU level will take a long time to be made.
The French government also hopes that the alliance negotiations in Berlin will not be delayed for too long.