Germany is poised to pick its next leader. After 16 years at the helm, Merkel is moving aside – and what comes next is anyone’s guess.

Will Germans elect Armin Laschet, her successor in the Christian Democratic Party, after he pledged to continue what Merkel started?

Or will the German people choose change in the form of the Greens’ first ever candidate – young and dynamic Annalena Baerbock?  

Would it signal a shift to the left if they do? How might the Social Democratic Party respond to these changes?

And what does this decision mean for the country at the heart of Europe? For action on climate change, the future of the European Union and prospects for progressives across the continent?

Compass teamed up with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung to bring you a German election special.

We were joined by three brilliant guests:

Ulrike Herrmann is a journalist based in Berlin and a staff member of the left-alternative daily “die tageszeitung” (taz). She focuses on economic issues and is a non-active member of the Green party.

Christos Katsioulis currently heads the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s (FES) London office. Previously, he was director of the FES office in Brussels and Athens and worked as expert on foreign affairs and security questions at FES headquarters in Berlin.

Ed Turner is Reader in Politics at Aston University and Co-Director of the Aston Centre for Europe. and publishes widely on German politics. Outside his day job, Ed is a councillor and deputy leader of Oxford City Council.

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