INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
(Analysis) For the first time since the birth of the Federal Republic, Germany awakens to a political reality that would have been
Deutschland-a party that, until recently, was dismissed as a political upstart.A Forsa poll on April 22, 2025, places the AfD at 26%,
overtaking the CDU at 25%-a seismic shift that marks the collapse of the postwar order and signals a profound test for German democracy.Now,
Europe.The February Election: A Voter RevoltThe February 2025 election was a brutal indictment of the establishment
The CDU, under Merz, harnessed anger over economic stagnation, soaring energy costs, and migrant-related crime, promising fiscal discipline
The SPD plummeted to a postwar low of 16.4%, the Greens fell to 11.6%, and the FDP, at 4.3%, lost all parliamentary seats, per Reuters.The
AfD doubled its 2021 share to 20.8%, dominating eastern Germany with over 30% in states like Thuringia, per Illiberalism.org
The far-left Die Linke rose to 8.8%
Party as Voters Reject Merz
Despite campaigning as a fiscal conservative, he pushed a constitutional amendment through the outgoing Bundestag, with SPD and Green
infrastructure, climate, and defense, with exemptions for military spending above 1% of GDP, per Deutsche Welle
the SPD, a party voters rejected, defied the conservative mandate
where he served on the German supervisory board, fuel distrust
Conservative.Coalition talks, stalling over taxes and immigration, erode trust further, per Reuters
The perception of Merz as a corporate puppet has galvanized AfD support, particularly among young men and eastern Germans.A Cultural Divide
with young men and non-college-educated voters driving its surge, spurred by incidents like the January 2025 Aschaffenburg stabbing by an
gender quotas, alleging unconstitutional discrimination, threatens to nullify the election, potentially triggering a new vote where it could
Germany stands on this precipice, the world watches-not just to see which party governs, but to witness whether a nation forged in caution
and consensus can weather the coming storm of upheaval, or if this awakening will unleash forces that reshape the soul of Europe itself.From
