Germany is gearing up for federal elections on Sept. 27. According to some polls, Germany’s three main left-wing parties, the Greens, the Social Democratic Party, and Die Linke, are set for a combined majority, albeit a slim one.
That would mark a seismic shift of power.
Angela Merkel’s centrist party, the Christian Democratic Union, has led a coalition government since 2005. Until a year ago, it was scoring well in the polls when Germany seemed to be managing the coronavirus crisis successfully. Now, things have changed. Largely because of its failings during the pandemic, the CDU’s support has plummeted. A majority left-wing government now seems possible, largely thanks to the rise of the Greens. The SPD, formerly a centrist left-wing party, has become increasingly radical in recent years. The party’s co-leaders, Saska Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjahns, are open to a coalition with Die Linke. Until just a few years ago, the SPD ruled out coalitions with Die Linke at the federal level because the hard-left party was too radical.
Die Linke is the latest iteration of the former communist Socialist Unity Party that governed East Germany, having changed its name several times since German reunification. Die Linke is committed to an extensive program of nationalizations, a top tax rate of 75%, and withdrawing from NATO. Until a few months ago, the party’s new leader, Janine Wissler, was a member of a radical Trotskyist group. The major focus of the left-wing Greens is protecting the environment and fighting climate change. All of this matters in terms of where Germany might soon be heading in terms of major policies. What might the shift look like?
Well, consider that Berlin is already governed by a coalition of the SPD, Greens, and Die Linke. The Greens and Die Linke have thrown their weight behind a campaign calling for the expropriation of housing companies with more than 3,000 apartments. All three leftist parties would reintroduce the wealth tax, which was abolished in Germany in 1997.
Still, the SPD and Greens are now pursuing a policy that can only be described as voter deception. Almost every day, they are asked whether they are open to a coalition with Die Linke. While they do not rule it out, they are also careful not to profess this goal openly because they know it would lose them many votes. The SPD’s top candidate is Olaf Scholz, currently the finance minister in Merkel’s government. In many ways, Scholz is to the SPD what President Joe Biden is to the Democrats: a relative centrist who, it is hoped, will pick up votes from the country’s incumbent leader. But most members of the SPD have failed to support Scholz’s policies, as demonstrated by his loss to Esken and Walter-Borjans in elections for party chairman. A coalition of these three parties would radically change Germany. They are all committed to cutting German defense spending, despite the fact it is already low compared to other NATO partners.
In recent years, Merkel has moved the CDU closer to the Greens and the SPD and has launched a program of radical economic change: The German energy market is no longer a free market. It is a planned economy. All nuclear power and coal-fired power plants are being shut over the next few years. The Greens, SPD, and Die Linke want to accelerate this process, for example, by banning combustion engines and domestic flights. They want to amend the constitution so that 50% of parliamentarians are women. They also want to cap residential rent increases to the inflation rate. Where does this leave us?
Among my acquaintances, many of whom are entrepreneurs, a good number are seriously considering leaving Germany if these three left-wing parties enter power.
Rainer Zitelmann is a German historian and author of the book The Power of Capitalism.
