Germany is heading to the polls on 23 February to vote in a snap general election, after the government collapsed in November. The centre-right CDU/CSU alliance is in the lead with about 30%, while the anti-immigration, Eurosceptic, far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has risen to more than 20%, making it the second strongest party.
The country is seeing a radicalisation on the left and right in line with elsewhere. There are concerns about a lack of investment in the country’s ailing transport, energy, housing, education and health infrastructure which run headlong into Germany’s reticence about taking on more public borrowing. Cheap gas from Russia has dried up and German industry has suffered, with a third consecutive year of recession looming.
The likely winner Friedrich Merz is not inspiring enthusiasm any more than the outgoing Scholz did.
Whoever wins, the country is moving into troubled times. The Germany 1 January 1871 chart has Mars at zero degrees Libra square Saturn at 1 degrees Capricorn which will be badly undermined by tr Neptune Saturn in Aries from April onwards into 2026 in hard aspect to both, resulting in a sense of panicky failure and great uncertainty.
Germany’s relationship with the EU was always in for a rocky ride from this month onwards, worsening through 2026/27 and continuing on till late decade with tr Pluto opposition the composite Uranus, then square the Mars and finally square the Moon; followed by tr Saturn and Neptune eroding the tightly controlled composite Sun opposition Pluto.
Relations with France will be rocky through this year, sagging in 2026 and in a significant upheaval by 2028. USA diplomatic ties are also on a slide for several years. And with Russia there will be aggravation in 2026/27 – and perhaps worse through the final years of the decade.
The Bundesbank, central bank chart, 26 July 1957, flags up confusion and indecision now, with an extended phase of disappointment, losses and turmoil through 2026 to 2028.
Frederick Merz, 11 November 1955, no birth time, is a determined and battened-down Sun Saturn in Scorpio square a confident Jupiter Pluto in Leo. His life is changing radically this year with tr Pluto opposition his Uranus and lucky with tr Uranus square his Pluto Jupiter conjunction from June onwards – but if he does get elected his 2026/27 look fairly calamitous with tr Pluto square his Sun/Mars and his Mars/Saturn midpoints.
ADD ON: Alice Weidel, 6 February 1979 Gutersloh, Germany, co-chairman of the right wing AFD, [born a few days before UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves] is a determined Sun, Mercury, Mars in Aquarius sextile Neptune trine Pluto and square Uranus. She has an upbeat, confident tr Pluto opposition her Jupiter till early March and on and off till late 2025. And gets a lucky break this April but thereafter runs into considerable setbacks in May 2025 and later in the year. With her successful influences running out in 2026/27.
Tino Chrupalla, the other AFD co-chairman, 14 April 1975, also has smatterings of good luck bringing success ahead, though the election result won’t please him. But he will gear up and push ahead confidently despite hitches and glitches for the next two years.
Is it at all worth looking at the Germany 3rd October 1990 reunification chart as well, given how the AfD’s fortunes align so neatly and almost surgically precisely with the old East-West German borders?
The Federal Republic of Germany (the government structure of Germany as is) came into force on 23rd May 1949 in Bonn, the then West Germany. Could that chart also be looked at to see if the government structure of Germany will come under stress due to the elections?
@Unmystic Mom, the areas where AfD is strongest were also Nazi strongholds in the early 1930’s. Incidentally, I listened to a podcast episode on Hitler’s diary hoax yesterday, where it was mentioned East Germany dealt with its’ Nazi history differently from West Germany. It was mostly hushed and literally stashed away: Due to slower economic recovery and growth and especially Southern rural areas being relatively untouched by the War, many antebellum artefacts, including Nazi memorabilia survived well into the 1970’s and beyond. Add that to the fact people aged 50 and beyond grew in a strictly authoritarian environment, and it makes a lot of sense that they and their children have a very different worldview from Western Germans in many senses.
I did some ferreting around in the composition of governments in the Laender of the former West Germany some time ago.
In those Laender 87.5% voted for the five orthodox parties in their latest elections, whereas only 12.5% voted for either AFD or Link. Hamburg and Hesse were outliers, where the two East German parties polled 16% and 22% respectively. I hasten to add that these calculations were a ‘back of the envelope’ job not a sophisticated statistical analysis.
Perhaps it’s time to call time on the reunification of Germany. Certainly Adendauer was not keen in absorbing Asia as he called it.
Alice Weidel might be worth adding into this equasion. Her Venus is conjunct Germany’s Saturn and all its trimmings. People like her confuse me and scare me at the same time.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Elon Musk interferes in these elections to help the AfD the way its looking like he allegedly did in the US. He’s pretty invested in their politics for some peculiar, sinister reason.
@Jo, he has a factory near Berlin that’s basically providing the Teslas to Europe. But he does not understand social structures beyond his native South Africa, and has made a huge miscalculation in how his meddling will be seen in Europe.
Indeed. Already a backlash against Tesla in NL with showrooms being daubed with swastikas and anti-nazi slogans. In Germany they hope Musk can save the ailing auto industry, but it remains to be seen. China has bought all the precision-engineered manufacturing machines it needed from Germany and now can start producing goods of similar quality. I feel sorry for the Germans who are so full of pride about their achievements but don’t seem to have given enough thought to the future and the consequences of selling their best assets. One had hoped that with the UK gone Germany would take on more of a leadership role in the EU but that hasn’t happened and from this analysis looks like it won’t in the future either.
The BMW factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina is the biggest BMW plant in the world- so BMW are ahead of the game in that respect. I have utmost respect for the Germans with whom I worked for many years, and a country that rose again and again despite 2 world war pummelings now needs to refocus for sure. Those post 45 political parties based on churches, communities, trade unions, as well as their economic industrial-based models are stumbling. They thrived on American security, cheap Russian gas, a Mittelstand that had world market share, and an EU providing economic clout. All those pieces are going or gone.