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Elections shake up German politics, kicking off the post-Merkel era

Elections shake up German politics, kicking off the post-Merkel era

On Sunday Germany held federal elections that saw the center-left Social Democrats win the largest share of the vote, narrowly beating outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right bloc in a closely fought race.

Both of Germany’s traditional leading parties finished with well under 30% of the vote, while the Greens and the pro-business liberals, the Free Democratic Party, backed by young voters, are set to play the role of kingmakers in whichever future coalition gets formed.

Until then, Germany could be headed toward a potentially protracted power struggle. 

Xenia Kounalaki, a journalist and the foreign editor at Kathimerini, joins our host Thanos Davelis with the latest analysis from the election in Germany.