Germany holds early parliamentary elections

On February 23, early parliamentary elections are taking place in Germany, Azernews reports.

These early elections followed the collapse of Olaf Scholz's "Traffic Light" coalition in November of last year, which included his center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens, and the Free Democrats (FDP) due to a dispute over budget expenditures.

All polling agencies predict a confident victory for the conservative bloc of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU), which is expected to garner around 29-30 percent of the votes.

According to the surveys, the right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) is projected to secure a solid second place with 20-22 percent, receiving twice as many votes as in 2021. The Social Democrats can only hope for a third-place finish, with their rating at just 15-16 percent. Compared to the 2021 elections, the SPD is expected to lose a third of its voters. The Greens' ratings remain relatively stable, with about 13 percent of respondents indicating they would vote for them.

Immediately after the polling stations close, ARD and ZDF television channels will publish the first exit poll data. Preliminary official results are expected to be announced on the night of Monday, with final results released in the following days.

Germany is facing a number of challenges, including economic and migration crises, threats of trade wars, and ongoing attempts to expedite a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine without European involvement. Germany, whose economy is export-oriented and has long relied on the United States for its security, is particularly vulnerable.

Currently, Germans are more pessimistic about their standard of living than at any time since the 2008 financial crisis. According to the Gallup polling company, the percentage of those who believe their situation is improving has sharply decreased from 42 percent in 2023 to 27 percent in 2024.

Attitudes toward migration have also hardened, marking a significant shift in public sentiment in Germany since the "Welcome Refugees" culture that emerged during the European migration crisis of 2015.