Anna Lena Baerbock - new German Chancellor?

[jjw]

She could be the first Chancellor from the political party Alliance 90/The Greens in Germany.
She is born in 1980, has two children and is married to a political consultant.
16 Years of political standstill (no national pension funds reform by Merkel for example) could come to an end.
What do you think about Germany after Merkel?

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by jjw

She could be the first Chancellor from the political party Alliance 90/The Greens in Germany.
She is born in 1980, has two children and is married to a political consultant.
16 Years of political standstill (no national pension funds reform by Merkel for example) could come to an end.
What do you think about Germany after Merkel?

Frau Merkel has been Chancellor for an awfully long time; but there have been warning signs of waning popularity. Also, she's got to retire one day anyway, and I remember reading that this is set for the autumn of this year (September)? The CDU leader contesting the 2021 election is going to be Armin Laschet; but in order to be the next Chancellor he would need to be the one forming a coalition.

I am not sure how the Greens will be more than at best a junior coalition partner in a relatively progressive government, probably led by the SPD. It's hard to see how they could align with the CDU, though nothing is stranger than politics. But unless they win a lot more seats, (a lot more) they aren't going to be a senior coalition partner; and on that basis I would suggest that Annalena Baerbock isn't going to be Germany's new Chancellor.

Germany is the senior country within the EU, not France. Whoever becomes Chancellor in 2021 after Mrs Merkel is going to be a very influential figure in EU as well as domestic German policy.

[Nobody1]

Mhh, let's see.

• openly shows contempt for international law
• has a negative attitude towards Germany's energy security by rejecting North Stream 2
• advocates higher defense spending, financed by austerity measures within the social sector
• stands for an intra-European tension policy and military action that promotes a remote-controlled geostrategy
• advocates German participation in illegal wars of aggression and thus openly rejects our Grundgesetz

To be honest, I am not too impressed. Baerbock stands for little more than the unconditional surrender to the usual transatlanticism that has already drawn negative attention to itself in the recent past by a almost neverending chain of awe-inspiring failures. Or in other words, for the Merkelian lead coat, which after 16 years of political laziness is now paralyzing our political and economic landscape.

Baerbock is certainly the preferred candidate of the powers that would like to reduce our role on the international stage to one of the yapping ankle-biters on the Russian foot. It remains to be seen, however, whether such an openly displayed disregard for Germany's self-interests will be politically sustainable in our country.

[Brecht]

She is the preferred candidate of the German economic elites after Merkel. It remains to be seen how that is compatible with their business interests in China and Russia. Baerbock is a transatlanticist warmonger but not because she's convinced of what she says but because she's a typical millenial dilettante who can be bought for anything. In that she's trying to outdo the old warmonger Joschka Fischer. The rest has been said by Nobody1 already.

[hoss]

She appears to be refreshingly outspoken and straightforward. I think she could benefit from the habit of male politicians to underestimate their female counterparts. Other than that it is simply too early to make a judgment.

[hoss]

EU foreign ministers decided to impose further sanctions against Russia and personally sanction Putin and Lavrov. Baerbock: "We´re going to ruin Russia!". Man, that woman is furious!

[shmoopiebear]

Meanwhile, in the news there has been criticism of how the German military has become total crap and needs an upgrade