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Race for third place in German elections is really the one to watch

As Angela Merkel and Martin Schulz slug it out for the chancellery, the race for third place in Sunday’s election may end up having an out-sized influence on the next German government.

22.09.2017

(Bloomberg) As Angela Merkel and Martin Schulz slug it out for the chancellery, the race for third place in Sunday’s election may end up having an out-sized influence on the next German government.

That’s not because either the post-communist Left party or anti-immigration Alternative for Germany will gain a foothold on power -- it’s highly unlikely they will. But their respective success in drawing support from the centre to the political fringes suggests that whatever the shape of the coalition after September 24, it won’t easily be able to ignore either party’s appeal to voters fed up with the mainstream.