𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Frontrunner Friedrich Merz would spark “a competition for leadership in Europe” and wants to “reinstate Germany’s leadership” in the EU, an analyst has suggested.

Politico cited people close to EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen as saying that she and Mr Merz – who both hail from the same party, but differ somewhat in their politics – would be able to transcend their past differences and find a harmonious co-existence based on the larger goals of strengthening the EU.

A CDU spokesperson told the outlet that the pair speak regularly by phone and co-operate well, while an EU Commission official close to Ms von der Leyen said: “They share the same goal to increase the competitiveness of Europe, including by making business simpler and faster.”

But others reportedly describe the relationship as being strained.

“The defining feature of this relationship is that it will potentially be a competition for leadership in Europe,” Jan Techau, a director at the Eurasia group think-tank told Politico. “She very clearly is interested in dominating the Brussels scene … whereas Merz of course wants to reinstate Germany’s leadership in Europe.”

Alice Weidel, the far-right Alternative for Germany’s chancellor candidate, is an unlikely public face for a male-dominated, anti-immigration party that depicts itself as a defender of traditional family values.

The 46-year-old is raising two sons with a Sri Lankan-born woman, is a filmmaker, and speaks fluent English and Mandarin, having done a doctorate in economics in China. A western German leading a party that is strongest in the former communist East, she worked for Goldman Sachs and Allianz Global Investors and as a freelance business consultant before entering politics.

Ms Weidel’s unusual profile, however, is precisely what makes her an asset to the AfD, according to political analysts, lending a veneer of well-heeled liberal respectability to a party that is suspected by authorities of being anti-democratic.

“Weidel is someone who can appeal to a broader public than the typical AfD constituency, to the middle class bourgeoisie,” said Oliver Lembcke, political scientist at the University of Bochum. “She seems like the adult in the room among all these lunatics and extremists.”

Four candidates are running to be Germany’s next leader: incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the centre-left Social Democrats; Friedrich Merz, the candidate of the mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union party; current Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, of the environmentalist Greens; and Alice Weidel, of the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, or AfD.

Pre-election polls have put Merz’s Union bloc in the lead with support of about 30 per cent, ahead of AfD, with around 20 per cent. Scholz’s Social Democrats and Habeck’s Greens are further back.

Merz is favored to replace Scholz as chancellor, but it’s not yet clear what governing coalitions will be possible after the election. How easy it is to form a government may depend in part on how many parties are in the new parliament. Opinion polls show three parties hovering around the 5 per cent of the vote needed to win seats.

All mainstream parties say they won’t work with AfD.

US president Donald Trump wished the parties in Germany luck after seemingly forgetting the European country is going to polls this weekend.

When asked by a reporter at the White House about his thoughts on the Sunday election, Mr Trump asked: “Who has elections?”

“Germany,” the reporter replied.”I wish them luck,” Mr Trump said, according to DW. “We got our own problems.”

When a young German anti-climate activist nicknamed the “anti-Greta Thunberg” began flattering tech billionaire Elon Musk on X, few could have foreseen it leading to the tech billionaire wholeheartedly endorsing Germany’s far-right. It would take just ten months.

Germany goes to the polls on Sunday and there are fears the Alternative for Deutschland (AfD), a political party partly designated as far-right extremists, could win nearly a quarter of the national vote.

X owner turned Trump ally Musk has described the AfD as the only party that “can save Germany”, interviewed the party’s leader, Alice Wiedel, spoken at the AfD’s election rally and written an op-ed endorsing the party.

Tom Watling and Alicja Hagopian report:

Election frontrunner Friedrich Merz, the head of the conservative CDU/CSU bloc, warned yesterday that while Germany’s future lay in the West, it was not clear that the West would include the US anymore.

His statement comes at a time when Europe is seeking to tackle a confrontational Donald Trump, whose apparent wish to disengage from the region and mend ties with Russia raises questions about the solidity of the Western alliance.

“But even without Americans, our place remains in the centre of Europe, not alongside [Vladimir] Putin and not isolated on the way to the right-wing populist sidelines,” Mr Merz wrote in a letter to supporters. “For Europe to continue to succeed in the future, Germany must be prepared to take on leadership responsibility.”

A slew of violent attacks linked to foreign suspects in Germany have compounded public concerns over security and migration, prompting political parties to demand stricter measures on migration.

After the most recent attack on 22 January, Merz sponsored a draft bill with AfD support, breaking a taboo against cooperating with the far-right party.

However, he later failed to secure a majority for the bill as some of the deputies from his own party refused to support it.

In general, the conservative CDU has adopted a stricter stance on immigration in recent years, calling for pushing back asylum seekers at the borders, and for limits on family reunifications and naturalisation for refugees.

The anti-Islam, anti-migration AfD has called for borders to be closed and asylum seekers to no longer have the right to family reunification. Some senior AfD members have gone further in their comments and were present at discussions among far-right activists about deporting millions of people of foreign origin, including German citizens.

The SPD itself has toughened its position by enforcing stricter border controls and accelerating deportations, although it also wants to bring in more foreign skilled workers.

In contrast, the Greens maintain a more open asylum policy, promoting state-backed sea rescue initiatives and simplifying family reunification processes and enhancing integration.

Germany’s electoral system rarely gives any party an absolute majority and opinion polls suggest that no party is anywhere near one this time. The country has no tradition of minority governments at national level, which means that two or more parties will most likely form a coalition.

There is no formal referee for the process of forming a new government, and no set time limit. Parties hold exploratory talks to determine who they have most common ground with, and one combination of parties then moves on to formal coalition talks.

Those negotiations typically produce a detailed coalition agreement setting out the new government’s plans. That will typically need approval at least from conventions of the parties involved. Some parties may choose to put it to a ballot of their entire membership.

Once that process is complete, the Bundestag can elect the new chancellor.

A Spanish tourist has been seriously injured in a stabbing attack at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial two days before a watershed national election.

Officers arrested a suspect on Friday evening, shortly after the assault on the northern side of the vast field of 2,700 grey concrete slabs, across the street from the US embassy.

“Our forces have detained a suspect in the vicinity of the crime scene,” city police posted on X, giving no details on his identity or possible motive, but adding that he would be interrogated. “Investigations continue.”

German voters will head to the polls on Sunday, with the far-right AfD party expected to surge.

The SPD and Greens, both part of the governing coalition, are likely to drop in popularity according to recent polling.

But Germany’s centre-right Christian Democrats, who were led by long-serving chancellor Angela Merkel until 2021, are likely to become the largest party in parliament.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz has struggled with popularity ratings for much of his time as the German leader.

Sitting at 18 per cent according to a Infratest Dimap survey last year, his popularity ratings were some of the lowest recorded by a German leader.

YouGov’s final MRP poll suggests the far-right AfD’s 145 seats will surpass the 115 projected for the governing SPD.

The Greens, the SPD’s coalition partner, are also projected to fall from their record 15 per cent vote share in 2021 to 13 per cent on Sunday.

It is the fourth snap election in Germany’s history, after president Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolved parliament when Mr Scholz lost a vote of confidence in parliament.