Friedrich Merz is poised to become the next German chancellor after his conservative Christian Democratic Union placed first in Sunday’s key election. Social scientist David Bebnowski, speaking from Berlin, tells Democracy Now! that Merz is likely to join with the diminished SPD of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz for another “grand coalition” of establishment parties, which has ruled Germany for much of the last couple decades. He also comments on the alarming rise of the “Nazi-curious” AfD party, which was endorsed by Elon Musk and made significant gains in the election, winning the second-most votes. “The AfD is a party that is definitely part of the extreme right in Germany,” Bebnowski says.

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

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