Angela Merkel has walked away from Germany’s election this morning, once again, as Chancellor of the country. She has been reelected to a fourth term, serving in the position since 2005.
Vox reported Merkel’s victory earlier today, with her Christian Democrat (CDU) party gaining 32.5 percent of the overall vote. This far outstripped her party’s closest rival, the Social Democrats (SPD), who finished with 20 percent of the vote.
Merkel ran on a platform of stability. Germany has been a consistent country in a volatile region; England left the European Union during Merkel’s tenure, whereas countries like Greece have suffered economic collapse. Merkel’s Germany, meanwhile, has thrived with a strong economy, low unemployment, and a growing gross domestic product.
Even though Merkel’s CDU saw a strong challenge from their closest rivals in the SPD and their candidate for Chancellor, Martin Schulz, the most concerning group in the German election was the far right “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) party. They finished in a strong third place, defying expectations and gaining 13.5 percent of the vote. This is by far the most votes a German nationalist party has gained in a general election for decades.
The threshold to gain representation in the Bundestag, Germany’s Parliament, is five percent of the vote. This means that the AfD easily surpassed that threshold.
Both Merkel and Schulz have expressed serious concern about the AfD, which obviously gained some legitimacy and momentum from the election of President Donald Trump. Merkel had stated, if elected Chancellor:
“I will never work with the AfD.”
Merkel has frequently found herself at odds with Trump and the wave of far right nationalists he has inspired. Luckily, she has persevered. Hopefully, Merkel and the other sane politicians of Germany can continue to push against the anti-globalist, anti-immigrant political groups that continue to gain momentum in our world. Watch a translated version of Merkel’s victory speech below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-PNiZS1FAg
Featured image via Flickr user Glyn Lowe / CC BY 2.0.
