Friedrich Merz’s new coalition government was supposed to herald an era of unity and responsible governance. Built on a pact between Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD), it follows years of strife under the previous “traffic light” alliance of center-left and neoliberal parties, whose collapse late in 2024 prompted early elections. Yet in a historic first for Germany, the coalition’s initial attempt to elect the chancellor by a simple majority vote failed. Rather than a sure-footed new start, it seems that Germany is careening from one unstable government to the next. We can only speculate who exactly within these two parties voted against Merz in the confirmation vote, and we’ll likely never know if the defections that disrupted it were premeditated. Yet this debacle is more than likely rooted in internal party tensions, suggesting that neither of the main forces in government are fully united.
Neither can claim unwavering party backing, as is clear from their respective cabinet choices. Merz’s cabinet completely sidelined the more socially conscious “Christian-social” wing of his party. New SPD head Lars Klingbeil initially promised a complete turnaround, a “generational change” for the party after the failures under previous chancellor Olaf Scholz. No one from the left wing of the SPD is represented in government.
The once-powerful mainstream parties, the CDU and SPD, have lost considerable political influence. This “black-red” coalition government, once a powerful bloc, has been reduced to a shadow of its former self. Never before has a “grand coalition” been so small. The era of stability under Angela Merkel was backed by broad parliamentary support. Merz is reduced to acting in…
Auteur: Astrid Zimmermann
