NEUERSCHEINUNG
German Politics in Times of Crises
The Success of the Post-Merkel Conservatives in the 2025 Federal Election
Manès Weisskircher
Journal of Common Market Studies, 2025
This article provides an in-depth analysis of the 2025 federal election, considering the key developments leading to the CDU/CSU's victory. First, the article discusses the dysfunctional outgoing Scholz government and the unresolved conflict over fiscal policy in the context of economic stagnation. Second, it moves to the regional elections in three eastern German states in September 2024, where the far-right AfD performed strongly, but the CDU continued to rule out co-operation. Third, the focus shifts to the federal election campaign, during which the relationship between the CDU and AfD once again became a central issue. Fourth, the article discusses the election results as well as, fifth, the subsequent coalition negotiations that found Merz making substantial concessions. The conclusion discusses the broader implications of the critical state of German politics.
Diese Studie entstand im Rahmen der BMBF-Nachwuchsgruppe REXKLIMA und ist Open Access in der Fachzeitschrift Journal of Common Market Studies erschienen.