It’s a number that should set off proverbial alarm bells for every politician. In a recent Forsa survey, when asked which party had the most competence to solve the biggest political problems in Germany, 57 percent answered: none. More than half of the citizens have little trust in the problem-solving skills of the existing political parties.
It causes frustration at the ballot box when the choice is perceived as so poor. It is therefore no wonder that the potential for new parties is considered to be relatively high. The best example is the possible Sahra Wagenknecht party, which the left-wing politician has been flirting with for months. According to surveys, a quarter of Germans could, at least in theory, imagine voting for such a party. National, socio-political left, pacifist, pro-Russia, populist.
At a completely different point in the political landscape, the climate protest group “Last Generation” – previously known for sticking to the streets – is at least considering founding a new party. Such a party would probably have the primary goal of radical climate protection and would compete with the Greens if it ran for elections.
Representation gap at the green edge
They are stuck in a dilemma: With a radical climate policy, they are scaring the middle class and endangering their claim to be part of the People’s Party. For the activists on the street, however, even an ambitious climate policy is not far enough. A radical climate protection party would close this representation gap on the green fringes.
Is that desirable? In the short term, more political parties would probably increase satisfaction with the political system – simply because more people find themselves and their positions. And because new political parties have not yet had to prove themselves. All sorts of hopes can be projected onto them.
In the long term, however, fragmentation of the political system makes forming a government more complicated. And the Greens, for example, would find it more difficult to implement their political goals the weaker they perform. That would not help climate protection either.
It would be better if the existing political parties regained their power and convinced people that they are capable of solving political problems. Then there would be no need for alternative offers.
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Source: Tagesspiegel
I work as a news website author and mostly cover the opinion section. I have been writing since I was a teenager, and have always enjoyed telling stories. I studied journalism at university and loved every minute of it. After graduating, I decided to move to London and take up a position with a Global Happenings. It has been an incredible experience, learning about all sorts of different cultures and meeting some amazing people. My goal is to continue learning and growing in my career so that I can provide readers with the best possible content.
