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Will German Elections Set a New Direction after Merkel?

Germans went to the polls this week to decide who will replace Angela Merkel. The surprising results could mean the first three party coalition government in Germany's history.
germany SPD candidate Play Podcast
REUTERS

German voters prioritized stability in the first post-Merkel election—voting for the party who most emulated the former chancellor’s approach to government, the Social Democrats (SPD), instead of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). What does the narrow SPD victory tell us about the German political landscape and important Western trends like populism? Ulrike Franke and Sheri Berman join Deep Dish to explain how potential coalition governments could shape German foreign policy and the relationship with the United States.  

About the Experts
Professor, Barnard College, Columbia University
Headshot of Sheri Berman
Sheri Berman is an expert on European politics and political development, the left, fascism, populism, and democracy. Her latest book is Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe, and she is published widely in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, VOX, and The Guardian. She is on the boards of Dissent, The Journal of Democracy, Political Science Quarterly and Persuasion.
Headshot of Sheri Berman
Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations
Ulrike Franke
Dr. Ulrike Franke is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). She leads ECFR’s Technology and European Power initiative. Her areas of focus include German and European security and defence, the future of warfare, and the impact of new technologies such as drones and artificial intelligence on geopolitics and warfare.
Ulrike Franke
Brian Hanson
Former Vice President, Studies
Brian Hanson headshot
Brian Hanson served as the vice president of studies at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He managed the Council's research operations and hosted the Council's weekly podcast, Deep Dish on Global Affairs.
Brian Hanson headshot

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