Elections are important political events that determine the future of a country. For Germany, it is at the crossroads again and the German electorate needs to decide on who will lead the German government for the next four years.
Incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking a third straight mandate and the challenger is Oeer Steinbrueck, Merkel had been Germany's chancellor since 2005 and is the first woman to lead the country. She is also the first chancellor who grew up in what was known then as communist East Germany. During her first two terms as chancellor, she was able to form coalition governments of differing political leanings, a 'grand coalition' of left and right parties during her first term and a centrist right alliance for her second term.
Her main rival is Peer Steinbrueck, a Social Democrat and was the former finance minister under Merkel in her first term. He was also at the forefront of Germany's crusade to protect itself during the Eurozone debt crisis. One of his greatest successes was during the country's stand off with Switzerland on German citizen's undeclared assets and tax evasion issues in the Swiss' highly secretive banking system. He had recently been subject of criticism when we wagged his middle finger in response to a question on his campaign's gaffes.
The Eurozone debt crisis played a major role in the German elections but while the effects still linger, the outlook is very positive especially for the Eurozone as a whole. Germany is at the forefront and the downturn is letting up especially for those countries mired in recovery. The German advocacy is turning the tide for Europe as a whole.
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