Germany’s political identity crisis

he next four years in Germany will be anything but boring. A tectonic shift is taking place in Germany that will either revitalize or paralyze its usually staid political culture.

The Social Democrats — whose astonishing self-destruction in recent weeks took the country by surprise — are fighting this battle early and under extreme public pressure. At its core, the SPD is wrestling with what kind of party it wants to be.

But its woes are only a harbinger of what’s to come. The SPD’s political competitors face similar questions over the coming years and will need to reinvent themselves to remain relevant. It’s a process of internal change that could have serious consequences for Germany’s European and global engagement…

But the left is not the only one facing an existential crisis. For years, Merkel’s electoral success made her virtually immune to challenges from within her own party. That’s no longer the case. CDU members, particularly from the party’s youth and business wings, are calling on the party to prepare for the post-Merkel era…

It’s no secret that a significant faction within the CDU has taken inspiration from Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and his right-wing coalition and wants the party to take a turn to the right…

German politics are set for a change. September’s election saw the country’s two political behemoths take a fall, while a slew of smaller parties grew in number and strength. The country’s political landscape is fracturing and will make creating functioning coalition governments increasingly complex. If the trend continues, German politics could be left paralyzed.