The polls opened Sunday morning in Germany to elect the members of parliament who will then choose the successor to the chancellor, in power since 2005.
Six major parties are competing in the German parliamentary elections on Sunday. Three candidates for the chancellorship can claim to be the winner at the end of the coalition negotiations: the favorite Olaf Scholz, Angela Merkel’s heir Armin Laschet and the outsider Annalena Baerbock.
One woman, two men. Chancellor Angela Merkel is stepping down after nearly 16 years at the helm of Germany. Two men and one woman candidate are in position to replace her in Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
German federal elections: more than 60 million people called to the polls to determine Angela Merkel’s succession
Olaf Scholz, who represents the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has emerged as the favorite in opinion polls. He has overtaken Armin Laschet, the Christian Democrat candidate of Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU party, who has long been ahead in the polls.
Behind these two experienced men, the young Annelena Baerbock represents the Greens, who are expected to be the key group in the negotiations to form the new government. The Liberals, and even Die Linke, could also be used as a back-up force.
