Like the U.S., Germany Is Divided. Unlike America, It’s Coping
Both have deep fault lines. The difference is how the two cultures deal with them.
Bitterly opposed — and ready to talk.
Photographer: Michele Tantussi/Getty Images
At first blush, Germany’s parliamentary election was a victory for moderates, and a clear defeat for extremists. The populist fringes — the Alternative for Germany (AfD) on the far right and the post-communist Left on the opposite side — both lost seats. The vast majority of votes went to one of the four centrist party blocs, although there were large swings between those.
With that verdict, the electorate in effect nixed the only coalition option that would have been radical, an all-left tie-up of the Social Democrats, the environmentalist Greens and The Left. The next government will instead be formed by some combination of the center-right and center-left, probably weighted toward the latter.