Tag: german elections

Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the Greek leftist Syriza party, said talk of a possible third bailout for Athens was a signal that the government had failed and that new elections were needed, EurActiv Greece reports.

Failure to sign an association agreement with Ukraine at a regional summit in November would be a blow for the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative aimed at pulling six former Soviet republics closer to the EU, Lithuania’s foreign minister said. EurActiv reports from Vilnius.

EU leaders today (28 June) approved the opening of accession negotiations with Serbia in January 2014. But the way the decision was made left the impression that Germany would lead any future EU enlargement.

Germany proposed yesterday (24 June) postponing a new round of EU membership talks with Turkey by about four months to signal the bloc's displeasure at its crackdown on anti-government protests. 

Europeans stand out as particularly despairing over their economy, are concerned about rising inequality and believe there will be no improvement in the next year. The negative sentiment will play havoc with the upcoming European elections and might increase political fragmentation, said Bruce Stokes in an interview with EurActiv.

The EU’s transformation into a more integrated bloc centred on the eurozone will be a key part of the German election campaign, according to Karl Aiginger, director of the Austrian Institute for Economic Research (WIFO). But politicians will probably give in to “populist statements”, he warns, saying the debate on Europe is currently “very irrational” in Germany.

Even if Germany had to write off the loans it extended to Southern European countries as part of the eurozone’s emergency rescue measures, the economic advantages of its membership would still be overwhelming, according to a recent study by the Bertelsmann Stiftung.

German chancellor candidate Peer Steinbrück won many converts at the Social Democrat’s recent party conference, bolstering the left’s election push, but the SPD’s turn in fortunes is likely to fade in the home straight, EurActiv Germany and EurActiv France report.

Germany, a country struggling hard to find energy resources to replace nuclear power, has taken a step towards allowing the tapping of shale gas via hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a practice contested by the opposition and public opinion. 

Germany's center-left opposition edged Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives from power in a regional vote in Lower Saxony yesterday (20 January), reviving its flagging hopes of defeating her in September's national election.

Germany's political newcomer, the Pirate Party, has become the third political force in the country according to a new survey that gives it 13% of support, ahead of the Greens (11%), the Left (Die Linke, 8%) and the Liberals (5%). EurActiv Germany contributed to this article.

Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats lost power yesterday (27 March) in the rich state of Baden-Württemberg, where anti-nuclear sentiment had been mobilised by radiation leaks from an earthquake-stricken nuclear plant in Japan. The vote is not expected to cost her the job, but would certainly limit her ability to pass legislation.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government called for unity yesterday (1 July) after rebels forced a humiliating vote over the presidency that could lead to a watering down of her austerity package. EurActiv Germany contributed to this article.

The German elections "have shifted the country towards the right," but despite the outcome, “the German electorate did not vote for radical change" and instead opted "for clarity and for an end of the unpopular grand coalition government," writes Timo Behr, a researcher at the Finnish Institute for International Affairs in an October paper. "As a result, tomorrow's Germany is unlikely to differ radically from that of today," he opines.  

Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier attacked Chancellor Angela Merkel on tax and nuclear policy in a TV debate yesterday (13 September), in a forceful performance that could hurt her chances of forming a centre-right government.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party suffered losses in German regional elections on Sunday (30 August), a setback that could hurt her chances of forming the centre-right government she wants after next month's federal vote.

Incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel is in pole position to win next month’s German election, having seen her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) top polls for the third consecutive week, while the popularity of her main Social Democrat rivals has plummeted to one of its lowest pre-election levels since the Second World War.

Another 'grand coalition' between left and right following the 2009 elections in Germany would radicalise the political system, argues Eurointelligence director and associate editor of the Financial Times Wolfgang Münchau on the Eurointelligence website.

In an exclusive interview with EurActiv, Secretary General of the European Movement Germany Bernd Hüttemann discusses the European dimension of the German elections and possible coalitions.