Elections in Deutschland
Germany’s weekend plans included an early trip to the polls, and now a new party leader is poised to take over as the country’s chancellor.
Yesterday, the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party beat out incumbent chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), making Friedrich Merz Germany’s presumptive new chancellor. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured the second most votes—the most support for a far-right party since the 1940s and nearly double its support since the last election.
Snap elections were triggered in December when Scholz lost a vote of confidence after firing Germany’s finance minister, effectively dissolving Germany’s parliament.
Now, Merz and the CDU will look to rebuild the parliament, with Merz saying he’s hoping to put together a new parliamentary coalition “by Easter.”
ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
Just as many Americans view the outcomes of foreign elections with a certain level of detachment, Christians view earthly political outcomes as secondary to the campaign of our eternal home, where we hold our truest citizenship.
“From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective.… in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us.”
2 Corinthians 5:16, 19-20 (CSB) (read full passage)