[_cenw]

CDU/CSU is the new AfD. SPD is the new CDU/CSU. Greens are the new SPD. FDP are the fiscally conservative socially whatever-we-think our-voters-like-that-day-ism. As usual.

Left are... a mess, please get rid of Wagenknecht and the remainder of the pro-russia tankie wing.

Everything is going wrong in German politics. The current progressive coalition just announced a law that affects me personally very much (our self-id law) and it's such a bad compromise, it legitimizes every fear - real, imagined or performative - right wingers have about trans people, conflicts with existing anti-discrimination policy and makes the legal standing for every trans person (and presumably cis people who don't look "normal" enough) worse, the only good thing they did was eliminate the meaningless hurdles that were mostly monetary anyway (nobody "failed" the prior way to officially change your documents; people just didn't do it for fear of being retraumatized or for lack of funds). I am legitimately so done with politics in this country that I'm considering moving to Spain or Iceland.

[winter_blue]

> CDU/CSU is the new AfD

Are they really as incredibly xenophobic as the AfD?

Angela Merkel was from the CDU/CSU, and she massively expanded asylum in Germany.

What happened?

[_cenw]

Friedrich Merz (the populist, far more aligned with CSU) and Armin Laschet (the less than competent and charismatic chancellor candidate) happened. But mostly Merkel leaving happened.

Merkel was extremely popular with the voter base. Not letting her run again was considered an extremely bad take in the CDU/CSU. So she was chancellor for 16 years. She is a consensus seeking politician without too much hard convictions, but being in coalition meant that a lot of her work put her pretty far left within her party (in absolutes, probably slightly right center; she still voted against gay marriage).

The new CDU/CSU lives mostly in the opposition and the only voters they have left to molilize have run off to the AfD, being unhappy with Merkel (and a lot of them have simply died). Most Merkel voters moved on to SPD or even Greens; the only thing that kept them with the party was Merkel as a person.

[proudeu]

If you like Asia or have Asian heritage consider moving to Singapore. I did and I am never looking back