Politics watchers in Berlin describe this as a “Goetterinnendaemmerung,” the twilight of the goddesses: After a second painful state election result for the Christian Democratic Union party this month, Chancellor Angela Merkel decided against running for CDU leadership again in December. While that's not the same as giving up her government post quite yet — she's expected to confirm today that she won't run again after 2021 — it's the official signal that the Merkel era is ending and the succession race is open not just in the party but for the chancellorship, too.
Any successor is going to be sailing in stormy waters. The outcome of Sunday's election in Hesse, the German state that includes the country's financial capital Frankfurt, signaled that the political dispersion which has led to lengthy government formation talks and shaky cabinets in many European countries is the new norm in Germany, too.
Read Full Article »