Merkel running for 4th term

[RogueBeaver]

Per SPIEGEL. CDU SG Peter Tauber will be her campaign manager, though she won't officially announce until next year.

[DavidB.]

Good.

[Antonio the Sixth]

What is it with CDU politicians never knowing when to quit?

[Blair]

I liked that the politico article mentioned both Kohl and Bismark, not sure if Merkel will rank as high as them. Is she likely to win?

[DC Al Fine]

What is it with CDU politicians never knowing when to quit?

She's facing the German voters, not the Greek ones. I think she'll be fine.

[RogueBeaver]

Awesome news. Apart from van der Leyen, are they any other potential heirs/heiresses apparent?

[Cranberry]

I liked that the politico article mentioned both Kohl and Bismark, not sure if Merkel will rank as high as them. Is she likely to win?

She is dead set to win. The question is more by how much she will win, that she will win is out of question.

[ZuWo]

Four more years of cosy social-democratic governance in Germany, then.

[Hifly]

Excellent news. Germany's everlasting dominance in Europe will remain stable.
The fact that Antonio is clearly annoyed makes this news even more sweet.

[Hydera]

What is it with CDU politicians never knowing when to quit?

cheer up.

its not like if merkel didn't run then gygor gisi becomes chancellor of germany, bernie sanders becomes president and jeremy corbyn becomes PM of UK. and they write greece a check of a total of €10 trillion euros so they can overspend on welfare, pensions and bloated public sector jobs again.

[DavidB.]

What is it with CDU politicians never knowing when to quit?

cheer up.

its not like if merkel didn't run then gygor gisi becomes chancellor of germany, bernie sanders becomes president and jeremy corbyn becomes PM of UK. and they write greece a check of a total of €10 trillion euros so they can overspend on welfare, pensions and bloated public sector jobs again.

Lol!

[Hash]

What is it with CDU politicians never knowing when to quit?

Most politicians don't know when to quit.

[ingemann]

I liked that the politico article mentioned both Kohl and Bismark, not sure if Merkel will rank as high as them. Is she likely to win?

We're talking about Bismarck 125 years after his death, he's still a household name, even among non-Germans he's widely known and a divisive character but still a politician modern politician are compared positive to, he's in the champions league of historic politicians. No, Merkel is no Bismarck, and that would also be a insane high standard to hold her up to. But Bismarck is just a figure all modern German Kanslers are compared to, if they're successful.

As for Kohl, I think she's a superior politician, I personal don't think people will talk much about Kohl in a few decades time, of course the question is also how big a splash Merkel is going to make in the history books, I could imagine that the reason we see her as something unique, is more a question that Germany have come out of the post-reunification crisis under her (thanks to Schröders reforms) and Germany suddenly have to deal with EU as the biggest economy and the biggest country in it. She may very well just be the first of many German Kanslers who have to deal with the changed balance of power in Europe, a Europe where the Paris-Berlin axis have broken down, and Germany suddenly have to deal with their new and unwelcomed (as much in Berlin as in Paris) dominance.

[PJ]

This is shaping up to be a very boring election.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

RIP Europe

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

I liked that the politico article mentioned both Kohl and Bismark, not sure if Merkel will rank as high as them. Is she likely to win?

She is dead set to win. The question is more by how much she will win, that she will win is out of question.

Well I suppose hypothetically (assuming the FDP fail to get back in) there could be a broad red-red-green coalition, if the lefties are collectively sick of being the junior whipping boys.

Polls in Germany have been so boring lately.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Even given everything you'd still have to say intends to at this stage: "events dear boy" and all that.

[Famous Mortimer]

I liked that the politico article mentioned both Kohl and Bismark, not sure if Merkel will rank as high as them. Is she likely to win?

We're talking about Bismarck 125 years after his death, he's still a household name, even among non-Germans he's widely known and a divisive character but still a politician modern politician are compared positive to, he's in the champions league of historic politicians. No, Merkel is no Bismarck, and that would also be a insane high standard to hold her up to. But Bismarck is just a figure all modern German Kanslers are compared to, if they're successful.

As for Kohl, I think she's a superior politician, I personal don't think people will talk much about Kohl in a few decades time, of course the question is also how big a splash Merkel is going to make in the history books, I could imagine that the reason we see her as something unique, is more a question that Germany have come out of the post-reunification crisis under her (thanks to Schröders reforms) and Germany suddenly have to deal with EU as the biggest economy and the biggest country in it. She may very well just be the first of many German Kanslers who have to deal with the changed balance of power in Europe, a Europe where the Paris-Berlin axis have broken down, and Germany suddenly have to deal with their new and unwelcomed (as much in Berlin as in Paris) dominance.

Kohl was just one of several conservative, anti-Communist Western leaders in the 80s, overshadowed by Reagan and Thatcher. Merkel is the leader of her own little bloc though. She's a leader in global politics rather than a passenger. She will be a larger figure in history than Kohl for sure.

[ingemann]

Kohl was just one of several conservative, anti-Communist Western leaders in the 80s, overshadowed by Reagan and Thatcher. Merkel is the leader of her own little bloc though. She's a leader in global politics rather than a passenger. She will be a larger figure in history than Kohl for sure.

Of course that's also a result of a Germany changing from a country the size of France or UK to one significant stronger with their own sphere of influence to the east (which ironic are welcomed today, I think Merkel really need to thank both Putin and the French government, for the northern east Europeans seeing Berlin as representants for their interests).

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I liked that the politico article mentioned both Kohl and Bismark, not sure if Merkel will rank as high as them. Is she likely to win?

She is dead set to win. The question is more by how much she will win, that she will win is out of question.

Well I suppose hypothetically (assuming the FDP fail to get back in) there could be a broad red-red-green coalition, if the lefties are collectively sick of being the junior whipping boys.

Polls in Germany have been so boring lately.

I wish. Unfortunately the SDP blokes are more scared of talking to Linke than being Merkel's whipping boy.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Kohl was just one of several conservative, anti-Communist Western leaders in the 80s, overshadowed by Reagan and Thatcher. Merkel is the leader of her own little bloc though. She's a leader in global politics rather than a passenger. She will be a larger figure in history than Kohl for sure.

Of course that's also a result of a Germany changing from a country the size of France or UK to one significant stronger with their own sphere of influence to the east (which ironic are welcomed today, I think Merkel really need to thank both Putin and the French government, for the northern east Europeans seeing Berlin as representants for their interests).

That may not last that much though because Germany is losing population while France gains.
If the current pattern is sustained then in a few years the latter will surpass the former not only in terms of population but also of GDP.

[Tender Branson]

Kohl was just one of several conservative, anti-Communist Western leaders in the 80s, overshadowed by Reagan and Thatcher. Merkel is the leader of her own little bloc though. She's a leader in global politics rather than a passenger. She will be a larger figure in history than Kohl for sure.

Of course that's also a result of a Germany changing from a country the size of France or UK to one significant stronger with their own sphere of influence to the east (which ironic are welcomed today, I think Merkel really need to thank both Putin and the French government, for the northern east Europeans seeing Berlin as representants for their interests).

That may not last that much though because Germany is losing population while France gains.
If the current pattern is sustained then in a few years the latter will surpass the former not only in terms of population but also of GDP.

That's quite wrong: Germany had a population increase of 400.000 people last year (+0.5%), while France had +300.000 people (+0.4%).

[ingemann]

Kohl was just one of several conservative, anti-Communist Western leaders in the 80s, overshadowed by Reagan and Thatcher. Merkel is the leader of her own little bloc though. She's a leader in global politics rather than a passenger. She will be a larger figure in history than Kohl for sure.

Of course that's also a result of a Germany changing from a country the size of France or UK to one significant stronger with their own sphere of influence to the east (which ironic are welcomed today, I think Merkel really need to thank both Putin and the French government, for the northern east Europeans seeing Berlin as representants for their interests).

That may not last that much though because Germany is losing population while France gains.
If the current pattern is sustained then in a few years the latter will surpass the former not only in terms of population but also of GDP.

Not really even if we took the "worst" case scenario for Germany and "best" for France, it would hardly be in a few years, but rather in 2050, and the German GDP would take decades more to overtake if ever.

But looking at the newest numbers, while the German birth rate are lower than it death rate, the German population are growing thanks to immigration and it's growing more in absolut numbers than the French, and immigration usual result in a bump in the lower end of the population pyramid resulting in a lowering of the age of statistic average German.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Supposing that both the FDP and the AfD manage to just pass the 5% threshold and that Merkel only needs one of them to form a government, which would she likely prefer, or would she try to take both so as to have a more stable government?

[Tender Branson]

Supposing that both the FDP and the AfD manage to just pass the 5% threshold and that Merkel only needs one of them to form a government, which would she likely prefer, or would she try to take both so as to have a more stable government?

Merkel would never enter a coalition with the Petry-AfD.

The FDP on the other hand would be an option of course.