Elections always have consequences. Most countries are not a pure two party system like the United States. They have multiple parties and while one person will become the leader, they require coalitions of the parties in order to rule. It makes for a strange government when one party wins, but needs the support of another party. Most Americans never realized that Merkel’s rule was made possible by a coalition with the Socialist party.
Cheers from Angela Merkel’s conservative allies in Brussels at her re-election on Sunday belie wider unease at how the German chancellor will deal with an awkward new coalition and a surge in support for the far-right.
“With Angela Merkel, Germany remains the strong and reliable partner in Europe,” tweeted Manfred Weber, a Merkel ally who leads the biggest party bloc in the European Parliament.
But one source in the European People’s Party saw trouble ahead in her need to replace her battered Social Democrat “grand coalition” partners with an alliance of both the left-leaning Greens and the resurgent, economically hawkish liberals of the FDP.
“Things worked very smoothly with the socialists,” the EPP source said. “Now, you don’t know what’s going to happen.” Read more here.