Early parliamentary elections are being held in Germany tomorrow, after which one of the most important members of the European Union (EU) is expected to have a new chancellor - Friedrich Merz, leader of the opposition conservatives.
The elections will likely bring a historic result for the far-right Alternative for Germany, and what Berlin's policy towards Ukraine and our region's accession to the EU could be, Televizija Vijesti spoke with German Deutsche Welle journalist Nemanja Rujević.
After the collapse of the so-called traffic light coalition of the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the Liberals, which has led Germany since 2021, tomorrow's snap elections are expected to see a victory for the opposition Christian Democratic Union, which is leading in the polls with around 30 percent.
The most realistic possibility is that its leader, Friedrich Merz, will form a new government with the Social Democrats, outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who have 16 percent support, or even with the Greens, if necessary.
"Here, migration has practically become the only campaign topic, in the context of security, after a series of attacks that could be characterized as terrorist. And Merck insisted on this, that the borders should be closed and he is proposing very radical measures towards migrants. In addition, he talks a lot about the economy, considering that Germany has been in recession for three years and these would certainly be the main tasks for him," Rujević pointed out.
The election is also expected to produce a historic result for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has been publicly endorsed by the world's richest man, Elon Musk. They are at 20 percent support, but no one wants to support them. However...
"If this government disappoints voters, if there is still a lot of talk about migration and the people are dissatisfied with how this issue is being resolved, if the economic situation for Germany becomes even more complicated... Then, some fear, in 2029, the Alternative for Germany could be so strong that it can no longer be avoided," said Rujević.
The new German government, along with the rest of the EU, is also facing a major challenge from Donald Trump, who is trying to reach an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war in Ukraine, without Ukraine and the EU.
Merz advocates even stronger support for Ukraine and was in favor of sending German "Taurus" cruise missiles to it, which Scholz rejected.
However, unlike Scholz, who was in favor of the fastest possible entry of countries in our region, including Montenegro, into the EU, Merz recently said that he advocates for an intermediate step, that is, that we first integrate economically into the EU, and only then become a full member.
"To me, this suggests that he will not give it priority, that we will not see EU enlargement during his term. So, Scholz was more enthusiastic in his words, repeating that promise to the Western Balkans, but nothing concrete happened during his term, and Merz has not been much of an enthusiast from the beginning," said Rujević.
Almost 60 million voters have the right to vote in tomorrow's elections, and the results will be known practically immediately after 18 p.m., when the first exit polls arrive.
Bonus video:
