German Elections: The day after

On Sunday 24 September the people of Germany will cast their vote in their federal elections. After elections in amongst others The Netherlands and France, the EU is dealing with many new national coalitions. Particularly the outcome of the German elections will be observed with much interest throughout Europe. With her historic ‘Wir schaffen das’, Merkel took on the informal leadership of the EU – and with it new responsibilities, not only for refugees coming to Europe. How has Merkel been challenged throughout the campaign? What can we expect from her in the coming years?

ACCESS EUROPE and SPUI25 give the floor to expert speakers who will share their perspectives on the elections’ outcomes and consequences to keep you up to date with the latest news.
About the speakers

Michèle de Waard is a journalist and historian. She previously worked for NRC Handelsblad in Bonn and Berlin, and wrote amongst others ‘Duitsland achter de schermen. Het wonder van de Berlijnse Republiek’ and recently the political biography of Angela Merkel.

Natalie Welfens is a doctoral researcher at the Department of Political Science of the University of Amsterdam. Her research project analyses Germany’s humanitarian admission programmes for Syrian refugees. Welfens holds Master in International Relations and Political Science from Sciences Po Paris and the Free University Berlin. She is also a founding member of Polis180, a Berlin-based grassroots think tank for European and Foreign Policy.

Hanco Jürgens is a researcher, teacher and member of staff at the Institute for German Studies at the University of Amsterdam. He specializes in the history of the Eighteenth and the Twentieth Century, such as concepts of modernity, democracy, and the welfare state, ideologies, political parties, questions of continuity and change, borders, and Europeanization.

Katjana Gattermann (moderator) is Assistant Professor of Political Communication at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research. Her work is concerned with political communication, political behaviour and public opinion and feeds into debates about the accountability of politics within and across the EU.