After Election Gains, German's Social Democrats Aim to Form a Government
2021-09-28
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1Germany's center-left Social Democrats won the biggest share of the vote in the country's election Sunday.
2The party narrowly beat outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Union bloc.
3The closely fought race decides who succeeds the long-time leader of Europe's biggest economy.
4Election officials said early Monday that a count of all 299 constituencies showed the Social Democrats received 25.9 percent of the vote, ahead of 24.1 percent for the Union bloc.
5No winning party in a German national election has ever taken such a small share of the vote.
6Now, it is up to party leaders to decide who will follow Merkel after her 16 years in office.
7The first-placed party usually leads German governments, but that is not always the case.
8The first-placed party can find itself in opposition if other parties form a coalition without it.
9That happened in 1976 and 1980, when then-Chancellor Helmut Schmidt stayed in office even though his party finished second.
10There is no system for forming a new government, and no time limit.
11Parties hold talks to find out who and what they have in common, and a combination of parties can move on to official coalition talks.
12Those negotiations usually create a coalition agreement that sets out the new government's plans.
13The plans need approval from congresses of the parties involved.
14Once a coalition is ready, Germany's president nominates to the Bundestag a candidate for chancellor.
15To become chancellor, the candidate needs support from a majority of all members.
16Sometimes the first two attempts to elect a chancellor with a majority fail.
17If this happens, the German constitution permits the president to appoint the candidate who wins the most votes in a third vote.
18The constitution also permits the president to dissolve the Bundestag and hold a new national election. That has never happened.
19Merkel and her outgoing government will remain in office as a caretaker until the Bundestag elects a new chancellor.
20The outgoing coalition holds the record for the longest time taken to form a government.
21The Bundestag elected Merkel for her fourth term on March 14, 2018.
22That was nearly six months after Germany held its election on September 24, 2017.
23Four parties can possibly form a new government.
24The result will be a coalition that has a majority of seats in parliament.
25Germany has no tradition of minority governments, which are usually seen as unstable.
26The Social Democrats are the biggest party.
27Even they, however, failed to get a majority.
28They won 206 of the 735 seats in parliament.
29The Social Democrats want to build a coalition with the environmentalist Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats.
30The Union party could also form a government with those two parties.
31The possible Social Democrats coalition is known in Germany as a "traffic light" coalition.
32That is because the three parties' colors are red, green and yellow.
33The possible Union-led coalition is known the "Jamaica" coalition because the parties' colors of black, green and yellow are the colors of the Jamaican flag.
34It may not be easy to form either coalition, however.
35The Greens in the past have mostly allied themselves with the Social Democrats.
36The Free Democrats have usually allied with the Union.
37The Free Democrats and Union are against raising taxes and want Germany to loosen its rules on debt.
38The Social Democrats and Greens want to raise taxes for top earners and increase the minimum wage.
39There is one other possible resulting coalition.
40There could be a repeat of Merkel's outgoing "grand coalition" of the Union and Social Democrats,
41but this time under the Social Democrats' leadership.
42This group of politicians has run Germany for 12 years of Merkel's 16-year leadership.
43This year's voters, however, do not appear to want that result.
44I'm Jonathan Evans.
1Germany's center-left Social Democrats won the biggest share of the vote in the country's election Sunday. The party narrowly beat outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Union bloc. The closely fought race decides who succeeds the long-time leader of Europe's biggest economy. 2Election officials said early Monday that a count of all 299 constituencies showed the Social Democrats received 25.9 percent of the vote, ahead of 24.1 percent for the Union bloc. No winning party in a German national election has ever taken such a small share of the vote. 3Now, it is up to party leaders to decide who will follow Merkel after her 16 years in office. 4The first-placed party usually leads German governments, but that is not always the case. The first-placed party can find itself in opposition if other parties form a coalition without it. That happened in 1976 and 1980, when then-Chancellor Helmut Schmidt stayed in office even though his party finished second. 5There is no system for forming a new government, and no time limit. Parties hold talks to find out who and what they have in common, and a combination of parties can move on to official coalition talks. 6Those negotiations usually create a coalition agreement that sets out the new government's plans. The plans need approval from congresses of the parties involved. 7Once a coalition is ready, Germany's president nominates to the Bundestag a candidate for chancellor. To become chancellor, the candidate needs support from a majority of all members. 8Sometimes the first two attempts to elect a chancellor with a majority fail. If this happens, the German constitution permits the president to appoint the candidate who wins the most votes in a third vote. The constitution also permits the president to dissolve the Bundestag and hold a new national election. That has never happened. 9When Will Merkel Step Down? 10Merkel and her outgoing government will remain in office as a caretaker until the Bundestag elects a new chancellor. 11The outgoing coalition holds the record for the longest time taken to form a government. The Bundestag elected Merkel for her fourth term on March 14, 2018. That was nearly six months after Germany held its election on September 24, 2017. 12What Parties are Involved? 13Four parties can possibly form a new government. The result will be a coalition that has a majority of seats in parliament. Germany has no tradition of minority governments, which are usually seen as unstable. 14The Social Democrats are the biggest party. Even they, however, failed to get a majority. They won 206 of the 735 seats in parliament. The Social Democrats want to build a coalition with the environmentalist Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats. The Union party could also form a government with those two parties. 15The possible Social Democrats coalition is known in Germany as a "traffic light" coalition. That is because the three parties' colors are red, green and yellow. The possible Union-led coalition is known the "Jamaica" coalition because the parties' colors of black, green and yellow are the colors of the Jamaican flag. 16It may not be easy to form either coalition, however. The Greens in the past have mostly allied themselves with the Social Democrats. The Free Democrats have usually allied with the Union. 17The Free Democrats and Union are against raising taxes and want Germany to loosen its rules on debt. The Social Democrats and Greens want to raise taxes for top earners and increase the minimum wage. 18There is one other possible resulting coalition. There could be a repeat of Merkel's outgoing "grand coalition" of the Union and Social Democrats, but this time under the Social Democrats' leadership. This group of politicians has run Germany for 12 years of Merkel's 16-year leadership. This year's voters, however, do not appear to want that result. 19I'm Jonathan Evans. 20The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 21_______________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23dissolve - v. to officially end 24unstable - adj. not held in a secure position 25minimum wage - n. the legal minimum an employee can pay an employee 26We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page.