The attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market (and the tense political environment in Germany) underscored how central issues of internal security and extremism will be to Germany’s next government.

But other topics remain important as well. How does a government combat irregular immigration while boosting skilled immigration? And how does it safeguard against cyberattacks, uphold the rule of law and strengthen democracy against enemies within and without? These are some of the major challenges that the next German government will face in 2025, regardless of which party will be at the helm.

And yet, if you ask some members of the Bundestag, all these demanding situations will first have to be put aside in order to deal with the crisis facing the country’s economy. Large German companies like Volkswagen are in great difficulty, other people are worried about their jobs. and face emerging costs and rents.

Marco Wanderwitz, of the center-right Christian Democratic Party (CDU), was federal commissioner for the eastern states until 2021 and told DW: “The biggest challenge we have now in this country is that our economy is stagnating and this actually affects the base and the future of the country. “

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The government is being blamed for high energy prices, high wage levels, the deterioration of infrastructure, a shortage of skilled workers and too much bureaucracy.

According to Omid Nouripour, former leader of the Greens, this last point is highlighted by the slow pace of digitalization in the country.

“We have a twofold crisis, both economically and structurally,” he told DW. “You can see this, for example, in government offices, where fax machines are still considered a top means of communication. And you can see that in the investment backlog in this country.”

These problems are exacerbated by external cyber-attacks, many from Russia, on infrastructure such as the country’s power grids. “The most important thing is to protect critical infrastructure,” Nouripour said. “We have too many vulnerabilities in this area. And there are too many players putting pressure on critical infrastructure.”

That is why strengthening the police and intelligence is a vital task for next year.

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Two other disorders that have long been known as unrest will pose a much greater challenge than so far to long-term government: immigration and the question of how the country confronts the evident rise of populism and far-right extremism.   The attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market highlighted this problem.

The number of asylum programs and the estimated number of abnormal migrants have actually declined in recent years, although the European border protection company Frontex estimates that around 166,000 more people have attempted to enter the country illegally. EU the first nine months of 2024.

Germany has reintroduced controls at all its borders and the conservative CDU, which has a chance of leading the next government after the February elections, has now come out in favour of returning refugees to the borders.

Many local governments claim to have reached the limit in terms of reception and concern for refugees. Stefan Seidler, of the Südschleswigscher Wählerverband (SSW), a party representing the Frisian and Danish minority in the north of the country, claims to have witnessed this.

“What I can say from my perspective is that the municipalities are currently facing a huge task that they can hardly cope with,” he told DW. “What they need is support from the federal government.”

Wanderwitz, who is not a candidate for the Bundestag, does not share his opinion. He believes immigration is manageable, although he knows how polarizing the factor is. “The numbers have gone down,” he said, and he believes the disorders have been exaggerated. “In fact, I only know local politicians who say that it is much less serious than in 2014 or 2015. But despite that, everyone has raised the white flag in one way or another,” Array Wanderwitz said.

Nouripour believes that the number of refugees heading to Germany could rise again. “We know that the situation in Ukraine could generate more refugees, and we can see that this confrontation could be further accentuated in the Middle East,” he warned.

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Meanwhile, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is expected to win the February election.

“Lately we are under great pressure from the far right,” warned Seidler. He is involved in safeguarding minority rights. “Lately we are seeing an increase in those who think that it is the majority that decides. But as a minority politician, I can only say it clearly and unequivocally: an intelligent democracy also shows respect for its minorities. “

This is part of the reason why Seidler supported a motion tabled in the Bundestag by the opposition CDU/CSU bloc, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens currently forming a minority government and their former coalition partner, the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) to protect the independence of the Federal Constitutional Court against political interference. The reform raises the bar to alter the rules of the court, one thing that could be agreed on by the required two-thirds majority in the German parliament — even at a time of fierce election campaigning.

All political leaders agree that 2025 will be another complicated year, marked by violent conflicts and crises to be resolved.

This article was originally written in German.

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