Germanys Social Democrats say Merkels party lost and should go into opposition

http://www.washingtonpost.com/video/world/germanys-social-democrats-narrowly-beat-angela-merkels-party/2021/09/27/a21fdc94-7649-4d12-afde-00908a7d55c5_video.html

BERLIN â€" The leader of the center-left Social Democrats on Monday said he has a mandate to form the next German government, after preliminary results showed a narrow victory for his party over its main rival, the conservative Christian Democrats.

It is the first time in more than a decade and a half that the Social Democrats have outpolled their conservative rivals as their long time leader, Chancellor Angela Merkel, steps down.

“You can see a very happy SPD here,” Olaf Scholz said from the party’s headquarters on Monday morning. He said his party had obtained the “mandate to lead the government.”

Merkel’s Christian Democrats and their smaller sister party “did not only lose significant votes, but they also received a message from the people: They shouldn’t be part of the government anymore, but should instead go into the opposition,” Scholz said.

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Wolfgang Rattay

Reuters

Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader and top candidate for chancellor Olaf Scholz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig and SPD member Franziska Giffey wave as they carry bouquets of flowers at their party leadership meeting in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 27, 2021.

Under their leader Armin Laschet, the Christian Democrats posted their worst-ever election results on Sunday. With all 299 districts reporting, the center-right conservatives that have dominated Germany’s postwar leadership had just 24 percent of the vote, according to preliminary numbers. That’s the lowest mark for the storied party since its founding in 1945.

“For us, this result is disappointing,” Helge Braun, a Christian Democrat and head of the Chancellery in Merkel’s outgoing government, told German radio.

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The center-left Social Democrats, who ran a steady campaign under Scholz, won 26 percent, a turnaround for the party that started election season in a distant third. It will give him the strongest mandate to form a majority government, but whether he can remains unclear.

With the results so close, Laschet had on Sunday night indicated that he would be doing “everything possible” to make a ruling coalition himself.

But even within his own party, Laschet faced doubts over those plans on Monday. “It was a clear decision against the [Christian Democrats],” said Michael Kretschmer, the Christian Democratic leader of the federal state of Saxony. “Above all, what’s important to me now is that one accepts this defeat and result with humility.”

“We have lost this election,” he said, suggesting that the party’s combative response on Sunday night set “the wrong tone” and may have been reflective of a “wrong general attitude.”

“I don’t see a clear governing mandate,” Kretschmer told German public radio, even though he cautioned that this doesn’t mean the Christian Democrats should not enter coalition talks at all â€" especially if the risk of a power vacuum looms.

The preliminary results pointed to two coalition options â€" nicknamed for various party color combinations â€" that are politically palatable to Laschet or Scholz.

One is the “traffic light” coalition between the Social Democrats (red), the Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats (yellow). The other is the “Jamaica” alliance named after the Caribbean country’s flag: led by the Christian Democrats (black) and including the Greens and the Free Democrats.

Scholz indicated on Monday that he will aim for a “traffic light” coalition.

“The voters have spoken very clearly and have said who should form the next government. They strengthened three parties: the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democrats,” he said. “Those three should lead the next government.”

Both a traffic light and a Jamaica coalition would include Germany’s Greens â€" who came in with a record 15 percent, according to preliminary results â€" and the party will leverage what it can on its core issue of climate in negotiations.

Matthias Schrader

AP

Co-chairwoman of the Greens and candidate for chancellor Annalena Baerbock arrives for party leadership meeting in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 27, 2021.

Speaking on public radio, the party’s co-leader Robert Habeck demanded more action on climate change and social inequality by the next government, which may suggest that his party would prefer to govern with the Social Democrats and the Free Democrats, over a coalition involving the Christian Democrats.

But it is unclear if the Free Democrats would join such a coalition. A domestic politics spokesman for the party, Konstantin Kuhle, said “that with yesterday’s results, Jamaica has become more likely, compared to the three weeks prior.”

The Social Democrats led in many polls in recent weeks, but Sunday’s vote put them closer to the Christian Democrats than some had expected.

Both Laschet and Scholz said Sunday that they hope to have a coalition agreement in place before Christmas.

The wrangling will take place amid a challenging backdrop for Germany and the European Union, including questions of how to steer the bloc’s finances after the coronavirus pandemic and coordinate the continent’s stance toward Russia and China.

The election results will shape the future of policy not only in Berlin, but across Europe, where Merkel’s veteran hand will be absent as she moves into retirement.

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