Jürgen Hubert<p>Well, looks like German democracy will survive for another round.</p><p><a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/Merz" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Merz</span></a> will most likely seek a coalition with the <a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/SPD" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SPD</span></a> . While I personally don't trust the man at all, he is no Trump - he has neither the power nor the charisma to purge the <a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/CDU" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CDU</span></a> (let alone the <a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/CSU" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CSU</span></a> ) of moderates and lead them into a coalition with the <a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/AfD" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AfD</span></a> . We have been in Black-Red coalitions under Merkel before, and while none of them were great, we survived them (though Merz is definitely crueler than Merkel ever was).</p><p>The fact that the <a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/FDP" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>FDP</span></a> was kicked out parliament was very satisfying to me. They _could_ have been a party of personal liberty, which is a valid , positive approach to politics. Instead, their main "accomplishment" these last few years was opposing and sabotaging the very government they were a part of. Goodbye, <a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/Lindner" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Lindner</span></a> - you will not be missed.</p><p>Props to the <a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/Linke" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Linke</span></a> for their stunning reversal. They were the only party actually renewing themselves for this election, and it paid off. Furthermore, though it pains me to say it as a member of the <a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/Gr%C3%BCnen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Grünen</span></a> , neither the Grünen nor the <a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/SPD" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SPD</span></a> have done credible leftist politics these past few years, so it's good that _one_ party did and was very successful with it.</p><p>It also helped that the most toxic elements and <a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/Putin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Putin</span></a> bootlickers in the Linke jumped ship to the <a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/BSW" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BSW</span></a> - which narrowly failed to enter parliament, which is something that deserves some gloating. Not a great investment now, eh Putin? I hope that <a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/Wagenknecht" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Wagenknecht</span></a> - like Lindner - ends up on the trash heap of history.</p><p>The big question is how the SPD will develop. The party desperately needs a renewal - <a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/Scholz" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Scholz</span></a> was an atrocious leader in more ways than one. Yet spending the next few years as a junior partner to Merz is not a great position to reinvent yourself as a social democratic force...</p><p><a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/Germany" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Germany</span></a> <a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/GermanPolitics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GermanPolitics</span></a> <a href="https://mementomori.social/tags/GermanElections" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GermanElections</span></a> <br><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/ckg82wwrwy6t" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="">bbc.com/news/live/ckg82wwrwy6t</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p>