Conclusion: the German federal election 2021: negotiating a new era

This chapter examines the central findings of the book and reflects on their substantive implications for contemporary German politics. It returns to the subtitle—Negotiating a New Era—and traces this theme through the four major sections of the study. Our findings demonstrated the openness and fluidity in electoral behaviour. The erosion of the traditional cleavages of society has led to a fading number of party loyalists and increasing number of floating voters. Delayed decision-making based on a wider set of issues has increased competition for voters and strengthened the importance of strategic campaigning. Parties, meanwhile, compete in a crowded, fragmented and polarised electoral marketplace. Despite foreign policy not being a key campaign issue, the election had a wide-ranging impact on foreign relations and the new government has been confronted with how to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finally, Germany’s first three-party coalition, and its first non-Christian Democratic government in sixteen years, will bring sea changes to key policy areas but also face challenges in holding together a very diverse set of parties.