Two state elections in western Germany this month resulted in one win for Chancellor Merz’s Christian Democrats and two poor outcomes for the Social Democrats. The Alternative for Germany, meanwhile, performed better than ever before in a western German state election. What do these results reveal about the state of German politics after one year of the Merz government? Jeff Rathke, Eric Langenbacher, and Phyllis Berry discuss how the results could impact critical negotiations to spur economic growth and other reforms in the pension and healthcare systems, as well as what political decisions now will affect this fall’s regional elections in the east, where the AfD is at its strongest.

Host
Jeff Rathke, President, AGI
Guests
Phyllis Berry, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, AGI
Eric Langenbacher, AGI Senior Fellow; Director, Society, Culture & Politics Program