German political analyst Alexander Rahr told what awaits relations between Germany and Russia after Chancellor Angela Merkel leaves
Parliamentary elections in Germany are scheduled for September 26. The current head of state will not take part in them. In a conversation with PolitEkspert, Rahr shared his opinion on the future of Russian-German relations.
The expert noted that a previously unseen event is taking place in the country – the elections are tomorrow, but 40% of voters have not yet decided who to give their votes to.
“This has never happened in Germany before. Mrs. Merkel is leaving. She defined policy for an entire era and was a popular politician in the country. It will be difficult for Germans to wean themselves off and accept that someone else will fill this vacuum”, -Rahr explained.
The real contenders now are Armin Lachette of the Christian Democratic Party, the political force of current Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.
Rahr believes that the third or fourth place will go to the Green Party, which is pushing the anti-Russian agenda. If their results are good, they may be able to claim a seat in the foreign or energy ministries. This will have a negative impact on relations with Russia.
At the same time, the likely winners have a clearly positive attitude toward Moscow. They supported Nord Stream-2 and believe that a pragmatic relationship should be built with Russia. German business advocates a partnership with Russia, and they listen to them