Iron Frau wins renewed mandate

Germany’s political right scored a major victory in Germany’s general election this Sunday. Angela Merkel, Germany’s first-ever female Chancellor and leader of Christian Democratic Union, won a new mandate as the German electorate shifted further to the right.
Merkel first rose to the office of Chancellor in 2005, but her conservative leanings were constrained by a power sharing arrangement in Germany’s parliament. The Grand Coalition, a joint government made of up Merkel’s CDU and the left leaning Social Democratic Party, was a very broad based government. Though her Grand Coalition worked better than many had predicted, it kept Merkel from pursuing more ambitious conservative policies.
Merkel has been compared to Margaret Thatcher, earning the nickname “The Iron Frau.” She has been named Forbes magazine’s most powerful woman the last four years in a row.
Merkel’s main opponent in the election was Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a member of the Grand Coalition and head of the SDP. The left leaning SPD are believers in a social democracy, and are fighters for strong social welfare and job protection.
Merkel hoped to form a new coalition in which she would not be held in check by left wing influence. Her hopes hinged on the success of the smaller Free Democratic Party, a more conservative party. Her wish came to fruition. In Sunday’s election, Merkel’s CDU won 35.2 per cent of the vote and the Free Democrats won 14.7 per cent, just enough to form a majority coalition.
Merkel will now be free to pursue a more ambitious agenda. In fact, now that she is aligned with the more right wing Free Democrats, she will have to keep her conservative leanings in check so as not to alienate the public as a whole.
Indeed, Merkel has already indicated that she wants to maintain her centrist orientation. In her acceptance speech, she indicated that she would continue to pursue big tent, broadly aimed policies.
This new coalition will likely pursue economic reforms and concentrate on pro-business initiatives, an important issue for Germany who has been hard hit by the recession. It is expected Germany will have an _ 86 billion ($136 billion CAD) deficit next year. The next leader also must tackle the issues of the dwindling exports, Germany’s aging labour force, and their growing need for greener energy technologies.
This election put an end to what has been a long year for German voters. Dubbed the superwahljahr (super election year), as of this Sunday, Germans have voted in elections for a new Bundstag (their principal legislative chamber), the European parliament, five state elections, seven local elections on the same day, and the election of a president by the Federal Assembly.
Merkel’s victory is part of a larger rightward trend in Europe. Conservative parties are gaining traction with voters in Italy, France and England right now, signalling the end of decades of progressive politics in Europe. This trend represents a realignment in European politics, but it is also a sign of a greater ideological alignment, which could bode well for the prospect of greater European cooperation.

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