Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
German Coalition Excludes AfD
While the President of the US incinerates the post-war system with tariffs that will make America poorer, the Germans have given the world a small reason to cheer. The right-wing CDU-CSU and the leftish SDP have come to an agreement for governing the nation in a grand coalition. That is not even the best part, which is the grandchildren of the Nazis, the AfD, will be in opposition. Germany is a key power in the future of the EU and therefore the world. The fact that the hard right has been denied access to the levers of power is the cherry on top.
It may appear odd at first glance to see the main party of the right and the main party of the left joining forces, but it has happened in Germany before. The Kiesinger government in 1966 was such an arrangement. Angela Merkel also governed this way for part of her tenure.
The previous government collapsed 5 months ago, and the election was in February. The Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union had 208 seats in the Bundestag after that election and needed 316 to secure a majority in the 630 seat chamber. The Alternativ fur Deutschland won 152 seats, while the Social Democratic Party secured 120, The remainder of the seats went to the Greens (85), The Left (64) and the South Schleswig Voters Association (a minority Danish party) won one.
The latter three could have participated in the coalition, but they did not have enough seats to mandate a place at the table. The CDU/CSU could have joined up with the AfD to govern, but the older party wants nothing to do with the nazis. The only alternative to the Alternativ for the CDU/CSU was to make a deal with the SDP. That is what happened.
The BBC reported:
[CDU/CSU leader and chancellor in waiting, Friedrich] Merz promised the next government would reform and stabilise Germany and that the rest of Europe would be able to rely on the country.
The parties had already signalled their urgency last month, when they pushed through significant reform of Germany's strict debt rules.
The changes will mean the new government will be able to plough significant investment into the military and the country's crumbling infrastructure.
Included in Wednesday's agreement are a series of measures to "control and largely end irregular migration" and impose border controls, aimed at addressing one of the big concerns of voters in the February election.
The two parties must ratify the agreement, but that is expected quite soon, and the new government should take power in May. Under the terms of the deal, the CDU/CSU get the jobs of chancellor, minister for economic affairs and foreign minister. The SDP gets defense and finance.
Germany is slowly emerging from its post-war hesitancy in world affairs. It has punched below its weight for decades. Mr. Merz, though, has called the Trump administration (and by extension the US) an unreliable allly. He is correct that the US is unreliable. It remains to be seen if it is still an ally. The president has done that much damage.
This is the silver lining in the cloud of current affairs, and the lining is tarnished. Reuters notes, "In a blow to Merz, a survey by Ipsos released on Wednesday showed the AfD topping the polls for the first time with 25%, overtaking Merz's conservatives who slipped to 24%."
Mercifully, the Merz government will have some time before it faces the voters again.
© Copyright 2025 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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