Voting underway for general election in Germany

Earlier in November, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) fired his finance minister. He then lost a vote of confidence, which led to early parliamentary elections.

Later, Tesla CEO Elon Musk expressed his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Musk's support for AfD sparked a national debate about how Germany remembers its own 20th-century history. Scholz called Musk's support for far-right politicians in Europe "disgusting."

CNN reported that opinion polls have suggested the AfD might become the second-largest political group in Germany. Two issues that have dominated the election campaigning in Germany are curbing mass migration and righting the country's flailing economy. The main candidates for German Chancellor are Friedrich Merz, Alice Weidel, Olaf Scholz, and Robert Habeck.

Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has been the longtime frontrunner in this contest. Regularly polling at over 30 per cent, the Union party comprising the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU - appears destined to be Germany's largest party and return itself to the helm of German politics.

The AfD's candidate for chancellor, Alice Weidel, is a strong opponent of immigration. The Party has been performing well in regional elections and became the largest party in Thuringia.

According to opinion polls, the party's popularity has translated to the national level. AfD has been polling in second place, with around 20 per cent, since the snap polls were called and the figures have hardly budged.

Speaking to CNN at a huge rally for the AfD, Weidel said one of her first decisions as chancellor would be "closing our borders, controlling them and then sending out all the illegals." She has called the policy "remigration" - a term that has Nazi connotations.

According to opinion polls, Olaf Scholz's party, the SPD, could witness a downward swing in votes by around 10 points. This would put the SPD not only behind the AfD but fighting it out with the Greens for third. Scholz came to power on a wave of post-former German Chancellor Angela Merkel optimism. However, his "traffic light" coalition has been witnessing infighting from the start, according to a CNN report.

Many of those disagreements within the coalition became public, and the German people grew weary of constant bickering. All that resulted in dim views among the public regarding Scholz and SPD. In a poll conducted in September last year, Scholz was the least popular German Chancellor since reunification.

The Green Party, polling nationally at around 13 per cent, is unlikely to get enough votes to be the biggest party in Germany. But it could play an important role in the formation of the next government. CNN reported that the Greens' candidate for chancellor is Germany's current Economics Minister Robert Habeck.

Immigration has been the major focus of the election in Germany, with concerns regarding a series of high-profile attacks allegedly carried out by asylum seekers or migrants. In recent months, Scholz reintroduced checks on borders with neighboring European nations, a move many considered as him attempting to get support from voters who may be turning towards the AfD.

The second most important issue in the election is the economy, as the country's economy has been stagnating, and the general view is that major reform is required. Earlier in January, the Federal Statistics Office of Germany said that Germany's GDP had shrunk for the second year running by 0.2 per cent, after a contraction of 0.3 per cent in 2023. (ANI)