Editing Politics of Germany (section)

=== 2021–2025<!--update "current"--> ===
{{main article|2021 German federal election}}{{See also|2025 German federal election}}
Scheduled elections for the new Bundestag were held on [[2021 German federal election|26 September 2021]] during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. Angela Merkel did not stand for a fifth term but handed her post over after the second longest term for a chancellor in German history. [[Olaf Scholz]] was sworn in as the new chancellor on 8 December 2021. His Social Democrats had won the plurality of votes and formed a liberal-left coalition government with The Greens and the FDP.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-12-08|title=Olaf Scholz elected to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/08/olaf-scholz-elected-succeed-angela-merkel-german-chancellor|access-date=2022-01-11|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref>

For the first time since 1949 the [[South Schleswig Voters' Association]] was able to gain a seat in the Bundestag. As a party which represents Frisian and Danish minorities in Germany it is not bound by the 5% threshold.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-09-28 |title=Erst angefeindet, jetzt im Bundestag: 75 Jahre SSW im Landtag|url=https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/schleswig-holstein/Erst-angefeindet-jetzt-im-Bundestag-75-Jahre-SSW-im-Landtag,sswschleswigholstein100.html|access-date=2024-10-07|website=NDR.de|language=de}}</ref>
The Left party missed that threshold as well and was only able to enter the Bundestag by winning three direct mandates. This was only the fourth time in history that this clause on the minimum number of constituency seats required for party representation in Parliament was applied.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2024-10-07 |title=Clause on the minimum number of constituency seats required for party representation in Parliament|url=https://bundeswahlleiterin.de/en/service/glossar/g/grundmandatsklausel.html|access-date=2024-10-07|website=Bundeswahlleiterin.de|language=en}}</ref>

In February 2022, [[Frank-Walter Steinmeier]] was elected for a second five-year term as Germany's president. Although a largely ceremonial post, he has been seen as a symbol of consensus and continuity.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-02-13|title=Steinmeier reelected as German president |url=https://www.dw.com/en/frank-walter-steinmeier-elected-to-second-term-as-german-president/a-60760871|access-date=2024-11-10 |website=Deutsche Welle|language=en}}</ref>

In a highly publicized break with her former party, The Left, [[Sahra Wagenknecht]] formed her own left-wing but culturally and socially conservative populist party, the [[Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance]] in 2024. Along with 9 other former members of The Left who held on to their seats in the Bundestag after leaving the party, they now hold 1.36% of mandates and cost The Left party its status as a parliamentary group.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2024-06-10 |title=Germany's new populists BSW challenge the far-right AfD|url=https://www.dw.com/en/eu-elections-2024-bsw-wagenknecht-results/a-66470345|access-date=2024-10-07|website=Deutsche Welle|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2024-10-07 |title=Sitzverteilung des 20. Deutschen Bundestages|url=https://www.bundestag.de/parlament/plenum/sitzverteilung_20wp|access-date=2024-10-07|website=Bundestag.de|language=de}}</ref>

On 6 November 2024, chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed Christian Lindner from his post as finance minister, starting the [[2024 German government crisis]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2024-11-08 |title=Fiscal policy was a squabble too far for German coalition’s odd throuple |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/08/|access-date=2024-11-10|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref> After the FDP left the coalition, Scholz announced a [[2024 German government crisis#Vote of confidence|vote of confidence]] which he lost.<ref>{{Cite web |title=German election: Scholz loses confidence vote – DW – 12/17/2024 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-scholz-loses-confidence-vote/live-71063891 |access-date=2025-02-04 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref> President Steinmeier would dissolve the Bundestag on 27 December 2024, paving the way for [[2025 German federal election|new federal elections]] in Germany.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Steinmeier löst Bundestag auf: Weg frei für Neuwahlen – DW – 27.12.2024 |url=https://www.dw.com/de/steinmeier-aufloesung-bundestag-neuwahlen-wegen-koalitions-krise-in-deutschland/a-70453303 |access-date=2025-02-04 |website=dw.com |language=de}}</ref>