Germany is poised for national parliamentary elections amidst pressing challenges: an economic slump, an immigration crisis, and political instability following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition government. Voters show growing support for the far-right AfD party, while Scholz's Social Democrats sit in third place. Observers express concern about the long coalition formation process, with significant work required to address the nation's pressing issues after the elections, particularly regarding the economy and immigration policy.
"I'm just worried that after the election that it will take maybe two months for a coalition government to form," says Jana Puglierin, director of the Berlin office at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Since all of Germany's mainstream parties have vowed not to govern with the AfD, which is under domestic surveillance for the threat it poses to Germany's democracy, the CDU's candidate for chancellor, Friedrich Merz, may have a difficult time forming a coalition government.
The general election of the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, was not supposed to come until September of this year.
The latest polling data shows Scholz's Social Democrats in third place among voters (16%), behind the far-right Alternative for Germany or AfD Party (20%) and the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) alongside its Bavarian sister CSU party (29%).
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