To start pageDossierGermany’s Recession Election
By the time the German parliament cast its no-confidence vote against Chancellor Olaf Scholz on 16 December, his government was already history. After three years of a political shotgun wedding marred by constant strife, the three parties of the so-called “traffic-light coalition” pulled the plug on their ill-fated experiment and decided to go their respective ways, triggering early elections in February 2025.
Yet the country is in a tight spot: in recession since 2023 and with major job losses on the horizon, none of the mainstream parties, it seems, can promise voters much in the way of relief. The Left, still reeling from a damaging split and in the midst of a leadership transition, is also struggling to make itself heard. Thus far, only the Right stands to gain.
With elections two months away and the crisis deepening by the day, our new dossier collects reports and analyses on the situation in Germany, shedding light on the dynamics behind the Federal Republic’s looming lurch to the right and exploring potential pathways to left renewal.
