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Short overview of the German🇩🇪 political developments that have unfolded so far this January. Things to look out for📢 this year are: Regional elections in Bremen, Bradenburg, Sachsen and Thüringen (first elections that @akk will contest) & 🇪🇺EP elections 👇
1.The election of the pragmatic and non-ideological AKK as @CDU leader was interpreted as inaugurating a period that will preserve Merkel’s legacy. She has been at pains to differentiate herself from the “Mini Merkel” label, emphasising her 18-year experience in politics and...
2...deciding to review the German government's decisions on migration policy since 2015, despite Merkel not viewing this favourably. AKK asked for a migration policy review for issues ranging from the protection of the external border to asylum procedures and integration.
3. @akk also called for subsidy cuts to environmental group DUH, because it sued polluted cities across Germany and forced a ban of diesel vehicles. She wants to support environmental protection against climate change with protection of the 🇩🇪automobile industry.
4. @CDU also laid out future plans in the #cduklausur2019 , looking at economic challenges such as 🇨🇳competition, the future of the automobile industry and coal industry; Security in 🇪🇺🇺🇸 relationship; New political goals for East Germany~ 30th anniversary of the Berlin Wall fall
5. @ManfredWeber will lead the @EPP alliance; In a @BILD interivew, he did not comment on Orban and focused instead on attacking Trump, Putin, Brexit and the AfD as 🇪🇺threats. However, Weber has been opposed opening the EPP alliance to more Eurosceptic forces.
6. The AfD decided that if fundamental reform initiatives do not materialise in the EU, it will campaign for Dexit. Many see this as a liability since Dexit might be too radical and not be popular among non-AfD core/swing voters.
7. Also, the AfD split, after former leader of the Saxony Anhalt branch announced he will be creating a new party called Aufbruch deutscher Patrioten Mitteldeutschland(Awakening of German Patriots — Central Germany) aiming at making gains in Eastern German state elections
8. Latest polls of @EuropeElects show that the CDU is polling at 35%, SPD 15%, Greens polling at almost 20% explained by alienated SPD and CDU voters who also want to make a counter-statement to the AfD. Eurosceptic parties AfD and Die Linke polled at 10 and 6% respectively.
9. One can detect that the CDU has been boosted by AKK's election despite not coming out with a strong slogan for the 🇪🇺 elections. One must also look out for Greens rising popularity and note the absence of strong gains by AfD, since they got 7% in the 2014 elections.
11. On a national level, one must look out for a potential SPD decision to leave the coalition and trigger new elections that would see AKK contest them for the CDU. The East-West divide remains important in understanding 🇩🇪 politics.
12.Finally, the Greens and the AfD have become key players in the 🇩🇪political landscape, as @OpenEurope blogs have demonstrated and attention on what these parties represent on a European level will prove interesting to look out for, esp. Greens that receive less media coverage//
