As German citizens head to the polls on Sunday 23rd of February, Ukrainians continue to fend off the Russian aggressor and the EU is struggling for its role on the world stage. Meanwhile, the German campaigns are focused predominantly on domestic politics and issues such as the economy, welfare, and migration. On the other hand, policy issues such as climate change have received little attention during the campaigns. Which issues do voters find important? How did they make up their vote choice?  

As regards political dynamics, several parties have nominated chancellor candidates with the intention to lead the next government. At the same time, it is currently not clear for a number of parties whether they make it over the 5%-threshold to enter the German Bundestag. These dynamics will be decisive for the next government formation. Who will be the next chancellor and how will the new German government influence European politics? And although Friedrich Merz from the CDU has recently accepted support from the extreme right party AfD for controversial legislative proposals, mainstream parties currently promise not to include the AfD in the next government formation process. What impact do these political developments have on voter attitudes and voter behaviour?  

These and many more questions will be addressed during this symposium, in which political and communication scientists will take a look at the public opinion dynamics during the election campaigns, examine voter behaviour and discuss the election outcomes with respect to topics such as welfare and European integration.