Einar H. Dyvik
Research expert covering Nordics and global data for society, economy, and politics
German election 2021 - Statistics & Facts
The center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) won the highest percentage of votes in the German election which took place on September 26, 2021, with an estimated 25.7 percent of German voters voting for this party. The projected seat distribution based on this share of the vote will see the SPD have the most seats in the Bundestag at 206, followed by the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party on 196. Due to not having achieved a majority, however, the SDP will have to govern in a coalition government, with some of Germany's smaller parties. The leader of the SDP, Olaf Scholz and the likely new Chancellor has expressed an interest in leading a coalition with Die Gr眉nen (the Green party) who won 118 seats and the pro-business FDP who won 92 seats.
Environment and Coronavirus the main issues
For almost all of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, the Coronavirus pandemic consistently polled as the main issue facing German voters, but since the spring of 2021, the issue of the environment steadily grew to become seen as the main problem facing Germany, with the summer floods in western Germany possibly focusing minds more on the climate emergency, as well. The growing importance of this issue in 2021 has been mirrored somewhat by the fall of the CDU in opinion polls. Throughout 2020, the CDU polled highly, reflecting the relative success of the German government's handling of the pandemic. The recent waning of this issue compared to the environment saw the CDU lose ground first to the Green party, and more recently to the SPD. This may also be related to the falling popularity of the CDU candidate for Chancellor Armin Laschet, and the growing popularity of the SPD leader Olaf Scholz.End of an Era
From the outset, one of the most significant aspects of this election is that it will mark the end of Angela Merkel's 16 year-term as Chancellor of Germany. Since Merkel was first elected in 2005, there have been four different U.S Presidents, five UK Prime Ministers and four French Presidents, making her one of the most significant Western leaders of the early 21st Century. Major events in her time in office include: the 2008 recession, the subsequent Eurozone Crisis, Germany winning the football World Cup in 2014, the European refugee crisis in 2015, the ongoing issue of Brexit from 2016 onwards, the rise of populist parties such as the AfD, and the global Coronavirus pandemic at the end of her time in office.
