Germany after the 2025 federal elections

Germany just voted, and it wasn’t a total shocker. With all the significant events in recent years, I’ve been pretty off the mark (Brexit, first Trump term), but predicting the 2025 federal elections was a breeze. 

It was pretty apparent that Friedrich Merz would be the new Chancellor. The only question was if he needed one or two partners. (Let’s not forget that he already has two parties in his club). However, I was caught off guard by how strong the AfD became and the most significant political force, especially in East Germany.

Whatever went wrong, it went bad.

However, the trend at the federal elections is also evident in my former hometown, where I grew up in the eighties. The AfD (with 19.9%) has become the second-strongest force in the small village, where, “in the good old times,” a wooden stake with a CDU logo could be elected without any question.

And what happened to the Greens?

A few years back, I started sending small emails to a Bundestag office of my choice to see how they reacted to them. I always sent my small comments to the office of a Green Party representative. Why? Because I spent more than a decade working for some of them in the Bundestag, I could easily compare my experience with it.

I did this during the election campaign and got no response, not even a confirmation of receipt. That approach might sound strange, old-fashioned, or arrogant, but for me, it was always a bold sign of seriousness toward the voters.

As someone who’s responded to such comments, requests, and criticism for years, I know that if this doesn’t happen, the connection to ordinary people’s real world will be lost. In this respect, I wasn’t surprised that the Greens aren’t needed.
By the way, you learn a lot about the social reality of our country if you take the time to read the unsolicited arguments that people send you. As an example, years ago, during our time in the opposition, I learned through the self-accusation of citizens how seriously the non-existent wage gap requirement affects people’s lives.

However, in the age of social media, digital comment columns, and like buttons, this immediate discussion may be invalidated. Maybe I ran out of time. I believe it is right to respond in any form to citizen requests, comments, or criticism.

You can’t always give a quick response in person, but you can at least let people know that you’ve received their request and will get back to them as soon as you can. And that’s what I still do today.