Germany faces its second change of leadership in fewer than four years after the head of the center-right opposition, Friedrich Merz, won Sunday's election, which also saw a surge in a populist party and a stinging defeat for outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has emerged as the second-place party with a strong anti-immigration message. AfD has won enthusiastic support from Elon Musk, as well as attention from U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Robert Maginnis is a retired U.S. army officer who spent a great deal of time in Germany and has had family there.
"I'm not surprised [at the election results]. Scholz was in trouble anyway, and … they're going to have a tough time trying to put together a coalition party in the next month or so," he tells AFN.
"I think they've recognized that there's some big issues out there. Certainly there are economic issues, but Ukraine is going to continue to dictate things. But also the immigration issue is not going to go away."
Maginnis believes AfD is a party on the rise. "I do believe that we're seeing a transition here. I think that you're not going to find a significant shift under Friedrich Merz. The reality is he's going to probably continue many of Scholz's policies as before, and [I think] that's going to land them … eventually in the minority.
"[In time] the AfD is going to have to step up and run the place. So, time will tell – but I think that we're heading in that direction."
Germany is the most populous country in the 27-nation European Union and a leading member of NATO. It has been Ukraine's second-biggest weapons supplier after the U.S.
