Winona Reif
On Feb. 23, Germany’s government hosted its 2025 federal election seven months earlier than originally planned due to the collapse of the government in late 2024. The election saw a record-breaking turnout of 82.5%, the highest it’s been since Germany’s unification in 1990. This turnout, up from 76.6% in 2021, reflects the heightened interests and concerns of the German public regarding Germany’s current political and economic state.
This election came after months of political instability in 2024. The previous government, a coalition known as the “traffic light” alliance, consisting of the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party, collapsed due to growing public dissatisfaction over economic and energy policies.
The election results signal a dramatic reform of Germany’s political landscape. The center-right Christian Democratic Union and its sister party, the Christian Social Union, led by Friedrich Merz, emerged with the largest share of the vote at 28.6%. Their campaign primarily focused on peeling back business regulations and reducing taxes in order to jumpstart Germany’s economy.
Despite winning the most votes, the CDU and CSU still do not have a majority in parliament and therefore will have to ally with another party. Early signs point to a potential partnership with the SPD, which, though weakened, still gained 16.4% of the votes.
The most surprising development from this election was the Alternative for Germany’s performance. This far-right party took 20.8% of the votes, placing it second overall. While the AfD has a growing base of support, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has officially labeled parts of the AfD as “extremist” due to their remigration movements, which involve deporting people who are not of German descent. Their label prevents them from being a part of the government because the country’s mainstream parties have maintained a strict policy of non-cooperation, also known as the “Brandmauer” or firewall, created after World War II to prevent extremist influences.
This shift in power from left to right isn’t only seen in Germany. In the United States, the Democratic Party lost to the Republican Party in the 2024 election, Botswana’s Democratic Party lost power for the first time in nearly 60 years and Austria’s far-right Freedom Party secured the highest percentage of the outcome for the first time in Austria’s history at 29% of votes.
For some students, these political changes around the world feel personal, especially when they impact countries they’re connected to.
“I’m partly German,” said sophomore Mia Gottschalk. “It definitely feels bad that the country where part of my heredity is [from is] not in a very good situation, and it will definitely affect how people here see Germans. They’ll think that all Germans are like that, even though that’s definitely not true, especially because there’s a lot of mass protests going on against it.”
Others view the rise in global conservatism through a geopolitical lens, worried about how international alliances may shift.
“I do not like how the entire world is currently trending towards conservatism,” said Burlingame sophomore Emma Yu. “That means everyone’s going to be associating with Trump, giving him more allies, and as a result, it’ll be harder to limit him as a global power and influence, especially as every major country aligns with a side.”
Some students are also concerned about how the global conservative shift could impact long-term issues like climate change, especially as many right-wing governments deprioritize environmental action.
“For climate change, [right-wing governments] definitely are not focusing on it as much,” Gottschalk said. “It’s an ongoing problem, and not supporting climate change, even for a moment, is going to affect the world quite a lot. People should focus more on the environment and what effects they’ll make towards it.”
These parallel shifts reflect a larger political realignment, where many voters are turning their backs on more traditional centrist parties in favor of those with strong beliefs promising stronger borders, national identity and economic security.
