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1 1 (September 29, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveepf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: s Congressional SResearch Service Germany's September 26 Elections Updated September 29, 2021 Merkel Era Ends, Successor Unclear None of the candidates to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel won a clear governing mandate in Germany's September 26, 2021, parliamentary elections. The center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), which has been Merkel's junior coalition partner for 12 of her 16 years in office, beat Merkel's center- right political group by 1.6 percentage points, but neither party exceeded 26% of the vote. Merkel, who was not a candidate in the elections, is to remain chancellor during what some analysts expect could be protracted negotiations to form a new government. Merkel's likely successors have pledged continuity in German foreign policy and relations with the United States, but the end of the Merkel era-and her legacy of global leadership-could have important implications for U.S.-German and U.S.-European relations. Areas of particular concern for Congress could include Germany's policies toward Russia, China, and NATO. Merkel's tenure has been viewed as a period of remarkable stability and economic prosperity in Germany. The country's broader political landscape arguably has become more fractured during her time in office, however, as Germany's two main political parties-the SPD and Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU)-have lost support to smaller parties on both sides of the political spectrum. Election Results On September 26, voters elected representatives to Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, which in turn will elect the next head of government, or chancellor. Political parties must surpass a 5% vote threshold to hold seats in parliament. Germany's multiparty system leads to governing coalitions; only once since 1949 has a single party won the absolute majority necessary to elect a chancellor and legislate on its own. The results of the September 26 elections suggest the next government could be the first coalition of more than two parties since 1957: Social Democratic Party (SPD), 25.7% (compared with 20.5% in the 2017 election). After finishing second to the CDU in the past four Bundestag elections, the SPD enjoyed a late resurgence in the campaign, buoyed by the popularity of its centrist candidate for chancellor, Olaf Scholz, currently Germany's finance minister. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11755 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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