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A voter in Saxony on Sunday: Germany is deeply divided.
KEYSTONE
After the federal election, Germany is more divided than ever. Extreme parties are making gains. But the social divides are deep - and range from East versus West to young versus old.
The federal election has revealed a torn picture of German society. With a record voter turnout of 83.1% - the highest since reunification - voters sent a clear signal: the country is politically agitated and polarized.
Three points show this particularly clearly:
The extreme fringes in particular made massive gains. The AfD doubled its share of the vote to 20.7%, while the Left Party and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) together achieved 13.6%. This means that a total of 34.3% of votes went to parties that are not part of the political mainstream. This is significantly more than in the last elections three years ago
The political center is also divided. While the CDU/CSU, the strongest party, won 28.5% of the vote, the SPD and Greens together achieved 28.3%. This means that there are two opposing blocs that will now have to find compromises if a stable government is to be formed.
Another divide runs along generational lines. Among the under-25s, left-wing parties dominate with 25%, followed by the AfD with 21%. The older generation, on the other hand, continues to prefer traditional parties: the CDU/CSU (37%) and SPD (23%) remain clearly in the lead here.
As in previous years, there is a clear divide between eastern and western Germany. The AfD leads in all eastern German states, in Saxony even with over 40%.
In the west, on the other hand, the party has not yet been able to win any direct mandates - with one exception: in the former SPD stronghold of Gelsenkirchen, the AfD achieved over 33% of the second votes for the first time.
The division is deep. This is particularly evident on the former border between East and West. While the CDU won 43.3% in the district of Fulda and the AfD 22.9%, the picture is very different one district further east. In the district of Suhl, the CDU only achieved 19.4 percent, while the AfD scored 42.1 percent. A topsy-turvy world within a few kilometers.
Despite the deep rifts, observers say there is a glimmer of hope for a stable government: according to surveys, 48% of Germans prefer a coalition between the CDU/CSU and SPD. And as many as 43 percent consider Friedrich Merz to be a suitable chancellor - only Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is rated even higher.
Experts believe that if Merz succeeds in including Pistorius in a governing coalition, this could be the first step towards bringing a divided society closer together again.
