The left-wing coalition government of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has attempted to shut down calls to follow the example of French President Emmanuel Macron and call for a snap election after a humiliating defeat in European Parliament elections.
Despite the Social Democrats (SPD) of Chancellor Olaf Scholz coming in third place in Sunday’s elections, behind the centre-right alliance of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CDU/CSU) and the right-populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), the government has refused to call for fresh elections so far as President Macron did on Sunday following a similar shellacking in France.
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Monday, per public broadcaster DW: “The election date is next fall as planned, and we plan to follow that through.”
This came in response to demands for a new election from CSU leader Markus Söder, who said: “This government is basically finished. And it must now be similar to France: There were calls for new elections, there are new elections because of Macron… Our country needs a fresh start. The traffic light coalition no longer has a mandate, no longer has the trust of the population.”
All three parties within the “traffic light” coalition government — named for the colours of the respective parties — made up of the Social Democrat Party (SPD), the Greens, and the Free Democrat Party (FDP) saw their vote share decline over the last EU election in 2019, with Scholz’ SPD falling to 13.9 per cent of the vote — a historic low for the left-wing party in a national election, while the Greens saw their support drop by 8.6 per cent to just 11.9 on Sunday, and the FDP falling to 5.2 per cent.
Sunday’s vote was won by the Union (CDU/CSU), which has seemingly recovered from its fall from grace following the disastrous Angela Merkel government. The two-party alliance secured 30 per cent of the vote, putting it on pace to have 29 seats in the 720-seat European Parliament.
The election was also a victory for the populist Alternative for Germany party, which beat out the governing SPD to become the second-largest German party in the EU Parliament, picking up 15.9 per cent of the vote, which will equate to around 15 seats, compared to 14 for Scholz’ party. The result for the AfD was the best ever for the party in an EU election since its formation in 2013.
The strong result for the right-wing party comes despite numerous scandals over the past year, including the infamous Potsdam meeting with identitarian activist Martin Sellner and accusations of spying for China made against an aide of MEP Maximilian Krah, the top candidate for the AfD during the EU elections.
Following the vote, the AfD announced it would remove Krah from their delegation to the European Parliament. The move is widely seen as a bid to repair relations with the Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the EU legislative body, which expelled the AfD in May at the behest of Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s National Rally (RN), the largest party within the ID grouping.
Despite the removal of Krah, there is no guarantee that the AfD will be welcomed back into the fold, given the fractious nature of the European right, which has long been plagued by infighting and ego battles. The possible return of the AfD to the ID group will likely hinge on the outcome of political wrangling between Le Pen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen.
Fresh off a stonking victory in France, Le Pen will likely seek to forge a grand populist-conservative coalition between her ID group and the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) led by Meloni. Should the two groups merge, and include other populist parties such as Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz and the AfD, they would become the second-largest bloc within the European Parliament.
However, despite coming to power after campaigning as an anti-mass migration populist and being branded as “far-right” by the legacy media, Meloni has governed from a centre-right position. It is unclear if Meloni would accept a partnership with Le Pen, particularly if the AfD is brought back into the fold of the ID group.
The Italian PM also appears to be shifting towards becoming a political ally of centre-right globalist EU chief Von der Leyen, who may seek Meloni’s backing to secure a second term as Commission President. However, were the Brussels-educated German arch-globalist to partner with Meloni, it could risk fracturing her own coalition comprised of socialists and neo-liberals.
Much remains to be decided in the coming days and weeks as the dust settles on the election results.