[20210929]IN11755_德国9月26日大选.pdf

CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Germanys September 26 Elections Updated September 29, 2021 Merkel Era Ends, Successor Unclear None of the candidates to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel won a clear governing mandate in Germanys September 26, 2021, parliamentary elections. The center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), which has been Merkels junior coalition partner for 12 of her 16 years in office, beat Merkels center-right political group by 1.6 percentage points, but neither party exceeded 26% of the vote. Merkel, who was not a candidate in the elections, is to remain chancellor during what some analysts expect could be protracted negotiations to form a new government. Merkels likely successors have pledged continuity in German foreign policy and relations with the United States, but the end of the Merkel eraand her legacy of global leadershipcould have important implications for U.S.-German and U.S.-European relations. Areas of particular concern for Congress could include Germanys policies toward Russia, China, and NATO. Merkels tenure has been viewed as a period of remarkable stability and economic prosperity in Germany. The country