After 16 years of Angela Merkel as Chancellor, German voters will elect a new leader on the 26 September 2021. The race is tight, with the polls suggesting that three candidates: Armin Laschet (CDU/CSU) Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Annalena Baerbock (Greens) will get around 20% of the votes. A coalition Government of three parties is a real possibility. This means that the negotiations for the formation of a new Government might last for months. The real question, however, is whether the new Government will represent a continuation of Merkel´s “moderate and centrist” policies of Germany as the “reluctant Hegemon” or whether we will see a more ambitious and daring Germany, which takes a stronger leadership role in European and world affairs. To answer this question, we were excited to organize this panel for a post-election analysis.
Participants:
- Ana Carbajosa, journalist and writer, El País | @AnaCarbajosa
- Christian Odendahl, Chief Economist, Centre for European Reform | @COdendahl
- Miguel Otero-Iglesias, Senior Analyst, Elcano Royal Institute | @miotei
- Sophie Pornschlegel, Connecting Europe Project Leader and Senior Policy Analyst, European Policy Centre | @spornschlegel
- Shahin Vallée, Senior Fellow, German Council on Foreign Relations | @Shahinvallee
Moderator: Charles Powell, Director, Elcano Royal Institute
See also: German elections: more continuity than change, by Miguel Otero-Iglesias.
Thursday, 30th September 2021, from 12:00 to 13:15 h. CEST (UTC+2)