Germans vote in high-stakes election watched closely by Europe and US | Global News Avenue

The Germans participated in a poll on Sunday after a fierce election campaign dominated by their country’s faltering economy and a series of deadly attacks that made immigration and security a priority.

Conservative leader Friedrich Merz, 69, became Germany’s next prime minister in a vote closely watched by Europe and the United States.

He promised to solve most of the problems in four years – a difficult task for Europe’s largest economy and squeaky infrastructure.

If Melz’s Christian Democrat (CDU) wins, he will need to form a coalition with at least one other party, which is likely to be Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrat whose administration was last year’s second half of last year collapse.

On the eve of the vote, Meers was determined to have no deal with Germany’s (AFD) far-right alternative, which is expected to be the second largest political force, following Schultz’s center remaining.

About 59.2 million Germans are eligible to vote, and while millions have already voted by postal, polls show that 20% are undecided before Election Day.

The poll opens at 08:00 GMT (07:00) and closes at 18:00, giving a clear understanding of the results of the evening.

The key election energized voters, and the campaign continued until Saturday night, eventually ending up debate on state television – the ninth of the month.

It’s a watershed as Germany will have to make big decisions on the world stage and at home.

Meles promises strong leadership in Europe, but Berlin is also under pressure to relax the military budget chips.

As Ukraine’s second largest military aid provider, Germany’s next new administration will face the U.S. president, who denounced President Vodimir Zelensky as a dictator and broke the Western front against Russia.

German political leaders were also shocked by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who met the candidate for AFD candidate Alice Weidel and called for an end to the long-term taboo of talking to the far right.

In Germany, this taboo is called a firewall or Fire wall.

Merz was accused of breaking that goal when he used their support in parliament last month. Several German cities protested against far-right protests on Saturday.

AFD is already popular in several eastern states, but the West is also developing rapidly, attracting support from young Germans through Tiktok.

A Weidel campaign video has 4 million views.

Her message is simple: vote for AFD, break the firewall and change German politics.

The U.S. Department of Defense hopes to leave the EU, to change the measures to build nuclear power plants and to repair relations with Russia.

But its voice has been loudest in immigration and security since five deadly attacks since May last year, including three attacks at election events in Magdeburg, Akaffenburg and Munich- All of this is said to be done by immigrants.

The stabbing at the Berlin Holocaust Memorial Friday night made the issue headlines. The victim survived and police said the attacker was Syrian and his motives were anti-Semitism.

The U.S. Department of Defense has adopted a highly controversial policy called “migration,” which is defined as deporting immigrants who commit crimes. But the term can also refer to the mass deportation of immigrants and their descendants.

The Anti-Immigration Party has already gained a foothold in certain parts of the western region, especially in the old industrial heartland of the Ruhr Valley in Germany.

In the European election last summer, it won the vote in some northern parts of the city of Duisburg, 20% in Marxloh, 25% in neighboring areas and 30% next door.

Marxloh is a vibrant area with a large immigrant community known for its shops for brides selling Turkish fashion outfits.

However, it has also suffered widespread troubles due to the decline in the coal and steel sectors and the lack of government investment.

In a park near the remaining steel mills in Marxloh, five young men in their 20s explained why they all planned to vote.

One man complained: “We are young, we need work, and they didn’t give us the opportunity to find training.”

“We don’t have money; everything is more expensive; there’s no more work, there’s too much dirt here.”

The AFD is not known for its social policies, but their information on security, and the group does not view the anti-immigrant party as extreme.

“No, they’re just ordinary people.”

Professor Conrad Ziller of Duisburg-Essen University said that in the east, AFD is best at rural areas, but in the west, it is losing its industrial base in cities.

“The voices of people who support AFD become so loud, so if you’re in a doctor’s waiting room, it’s really common, and people get angry at the established politicians and government when they hear people chat.”

Immigration is the most common sense of frustration, and he thinks Weidel takes advantage of this by showing it so prominently in all television debates.

Professor Ziller usually says in a debate about economics, social justice or inequality: “The AFD is biased towards the economy and says the main problem is not economics, but immigration, and the government is not doing well”.

While the polls have been consistent in who leads the competition, some parties may not have made the 5% threshold for the new slim parliament go beyond the 5% threshold.

The fewer parties that incorporate it into the 630-seat party, the easier it is to form a coalition of majority seats.

Economic liberals are the Liberal Democrats (FDP), in the outgoing administration, but they risked their forgetting together with the left-wing populist party BSW on Sunday.

However, the left has been revived in recent days, and pollsters have shown that it will become the fifth largest party after the Greens.