Merkel wins 4th term, hard right gains foothold in parliament

One of two AfD leading candidates, Alexander Gauland, has called for Germans to shed their guilt over two world wars and the Holocaust and to take pride in their veterans.

He has also suggested that Germany’s integration commissioner Aydan Ozoguz, who has Turkish roots, should be “disposed of in Anatolia”.

Law student Sabine Maier dismissed the AfD as “too extreme” as she voted in Berlin.

But she also criticised the media for lavishly covering the most outrageous comments by the upstart party.

“They aren’t all fascists,” she said.

– ‘Sleeping-pill’ politics –

Meanwhile Schulz, 61, struggled to gain traction with his calls for a more socially just Germany at a time when the economy is humming and employment is at a record low.

The SPD also found it hard to shine after four years as the junior partner in Merkel’s left-right “grand coalition”, marked by broad agreement on major issues, from foreign policy to migration.

In the final stretch, the more outspoken Schulz told voters to reject Merkel’s “sleeping-pill politics” and vote against “another four years of stagnation and lethargy”.

The CDU and the SPD have signalled they aren’t keen to continue their loveless marriage.

The SPD’s catastrophic result may convince many rank-and-file members that the traditional working-class party would benefit from a stint in opposition to rekindle its fighting spirit.

This would leave Merkel in need of new coalition partners — possibly the pro-business Free Democrats, who staged a comeback after crashing out of parliament four years ago.

In theory they could join forces with the left-leaning Greens, who, however, starkly differ from the FDP on issues from climate change to migration policy.