German politics after Merkel: plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

The announcement of chancellor Merkel to resign as head of the CDU has added yet another layer of uncertainty to the outlook of German politics and the stability of the government . Nonetheless, w e continue to expect that the coalition partners in Berlin will st ick together as early elections would lead to significant losses for both sides. One lasting legacy of the Merkel era is a more diversified (and complicated) political system, with the establishment of the far-right AfD as the sixth party in the Bundestag . This will make coalition building more difficult even after Merkel has left the political scene. Coalition governments encompassing several parties , however, are also necessar ily more consensus driven and prone to middle-of-the-road policies. With respect to further European integration in the post-Merkel era , only a coalition of the parties on the left might be willing to undertake new significant steps. At least for now, however, s uch a coalition lacks, despite the surge for the Greens, sufficient public support.