Blick von Außen: openDemocracy -- Germany's shift to the right

The election results in Germany are the latest example of the decline of Europe’s traditional parties and the crisis of the social democratic ideology. Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) remain the largest party in the German parliament despite losses in Sunday's elections, winning 33.8 percent of the vote. She secured a mandate to form a new coalition with the pro-business Liberal Democrats (FDP, 14.6 percent), which will succeed a "grand coalition" with the Social Democrats (SPD). Focusing on economic reform, tax cuts and a return to nuclear power, the new government will mean a shift to the right in German politics.