Catastrophe in Germany—No Longer Europe’s “Last Bastion of Stability”

The Sunday national election in Germany has, as expected, left the nation in a state of chaos. Both of the traditional leading parties were crushed, while the third largest party is now the newly created Alternative for Germany (AfD), a right-wing party, without a program, which emerged through anti-refugee fear mongering. Chancellor Merkel’s CDU-CSU coalition took only 33% of the vote — the party’s worst total since 1949 — while the SPD, which has been in a coalition with Merkel since the 2013 election, received only 20.5% — their worst total since the time of Bismark!

Merkel must attempt to form a coalition government. The SPD had earlier asserted that it will not continue in the current coalition, and will probably stick to that position. The likely partners Merkel will approach are the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Greens — two parties with vastly different policies from Merkel and from each other. Even Merkel admits that she is not likely to form a government until the end of the year. A new snap election is a possibility, but is not likely to get a different result.

While the AfD is not a fascist party, it includes extreme right-wing elements and racists. It will now have 94 seats in the 709 member Bundestag.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche, who was the Chancellor candidate for the Büso Party, described the result as catastrophic, given that Germany was the last relatively stable government in Europe. She issued the following statement today (translated from the German), identifying the cause of the crisis and the necessary solutions, which Büso will pursue with increased vigor.