Offer for the Bundestag election: From election campaign to election day

This general election is extraordinary – and that’s not just because of the pandemic. With this choice, there is more open than it has been for a long time. tagesschau.de will report in detail, inform, explain. That ARD-Overview of options.

There are still around six weeks until the general election. On September 26th, the citizens will decide on the composition of the Bundestag and thus also on who will govern Germany in the future. And with this choice, there is more open than it has been for a long time. Angela Merkel will not run again after 16 years at the helm. For the first time in the history of the Federal Republic there is no incumbent who is standing for re-election.

Armin Laschet (CDU), Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Annalena Baerbock (Greens) apply to succeed Merkel – the number alone is not a novelty: there were already three candidates for chancellor in 2002. In addition to Gerhard Schröder (SPD) and Edmund Stoiber (CSU) Guido Westerwelle (FDP) started the race. On the other hand, there has never been a green candidate for chancellor in Germany.

So far, no party has been able to make a decisive difference in the polls. Although this election campaign is only getting underway with difficulty – which is on the one hand strange in view of the importance of this election. On the other hand, the corona pandemic is overshadowing everything, and Germany is once again facing an uncertain autumn and winter. This first federal election campaign under corona conditions cannot take a normal course. Then there is the flood disaster. Germany is more in crisis mode than in election campaign mode.

An extraordinary federal election

tagesschau.de will report, inform and explain in detail about this Bundestag election, which is extraordinary in many respects. How does election campaign work under Corona conditions? What role does postal voting play – and what does that mean for the election campaign? What influence do the Corona conditions have on the outcome of the election? And how is a federal election actually organized in times of pandemic? The Federal Returning Officer explains it in tagesschau.de-Interview.

It also deals in detail with the parties’ goals and concepts. Because Germany is facing a directional decision in autumn. The challenges are enormous: climate change, corona debts, digitization, housing shortages, foreign policy uncertainties. With their election, the citizens not only decide which coalition Germany will rule over the next four years, but also which course the country will take for the future.

Many party alliances are conceivable: Green-Black or Black-Green, Jamaica (CDU, Greens, FDP), a green or a red traffic light, red-green-red, a so-called German coalition of CDU, SPD and FDP or again a grand coalition.

Contents: What the parties promise

So it’s worth looking at the content. Who wants what – for families, for pensions, health or taxes, for climate protection or for education? tagesschau.de has looked at the election programs of the parties currently represented in the Bundestag and compared the most important topics. Even the small and very small parties are not neglected: their goals and programs will also be presented in the next few weeks.

If you just want to get a quick overview of how many parties are admitted to the federal election, where they are standing and what politics they stand for, there is a table overview tagesschau.de. On the other hand, the election ABC is devoted to the most important terms in detail – from MPs to second votes. It also explains what overhang mandates are or what is meant by a chancellor majority.

Topics: first-time voters and farewell to the Chancellor

What motivates first-time voters, who so far have only known Merkel as Chancellor, what is the mood like in the regions, what happened to the promise of equal living conditions? Business expectations of a new federal government are also an issue, as is the view from abroad of the federal election.

Merkel’s years as chancellor, her political legacy and the construction sites that she leaves behind will also be discussed in detail. the ARD fact finder addresses possible attempts at disinformation or manipulation of the debates. For the first time offers tagesschau.de offers an option also in easy language. The Wahl-O-Mat of the Federal Agency for Civic Education can help with the voting decision. He’s up in September tagesschau.de to find.

In the ARD-Media library, on the Instagram, TikTok and YouTube channels of daily News as well as on tagesschau24 there will also be numerous projects and series around the election. The podcast of the ARD capital studios as well as the Fact finderPodcasts accompany the election campaign.

Election campaigns are always the time of data. the GermanyTrend regularly shows the mood based on the numbers from Infratest dimap.

“Triell” and “Vierkampf” on ARD

With numerous extra programs to choose from, the ARD your information offer. In the town hall format “Wahlarena”, Baerbock, Laschet and Scholz will each answer live questions from the audience on September 6th, 7th and 15th (8:15 pm). September 12th will take place in ARD and ZDF the “Triell” instead of with the candidates and the candidate for the Chancellery. The next day, the top candidates of those other parties that have a realistic chance of entering the Bundestag in parliamentary groups will compete in a “four-way battle”. In addition, on September 23, the representatives of the CDU, CSU, SPD, Greens, FDP, Left and AfD will be interviewed together. tagesschau.de streams the programs and then offers detailed reporting, including fact checks.

Several documentaries are devoted to, among other things, the end of the Merkel era, the legacy of the grand coalition and the motivations of the change and first-time voters. Also the radio programs of the ARD report extensively on the federal election, for example in a special broadcast with the two candidates for chancellor and the candidate, which is also accompanied on social media and in which listeners can participate with questions. There is also the podcast “Chancellor Check” with Eva Schulz.

What are the principles of ARD election reporting?

During election campaigns, public service broadcasting is particularly important as a medium and factor in forming public opinion. Primary journalistic goal of ARD is the comprehensive and independent information of the citizens.

Editorial programs for election are part of the normal radio and television program, i.e. part of the general program assignment for information and reporting. The principle of balance is anchored in the State Media Treaty – always in relation to the overall program. The election reports must reflect the diversity of existing opinions and political directions in the overall program in a balanced manner. The important social forces must have their say in the overall program. In addition, there must be no one-sided preference for one party or group in the overall program.

What does “graduated equal opportunities” mean?

Public election reporting must be impartial and treat the parties equally. However, this does not mean that all parties report the same amount and that they have to appear in the program to the same extent. Here, the principle of graduated equal opportunities developed by case law applies, according to which the parties must be taken into account according to their current political importance.

The importance of the parties is measured in particular by the results of previous elections at federal, state and European level, but also by whether and to what extent they are represented in federal and state governments. How long a party has been around, how many members it has and how continuously it runs for elections are criteria for graded equal opportunities. Pre-election polls are another feature used to determine a party’s current importance. However, this is only one of many characteristics that is not critical in and of itself.

According to case law, parties also have this right to equal treatment if their positions or statements appear undemocratic or if constitutional principles are called into question. As long as the party is not banned and allowed to vote, the principle of graduated equal opportunities applies to it. At the same time, there is of course the right or the duty to question or classify these positions or statements in the context of reporting.

How are small parties taken into account?

The principle of graduated equal opportunities applies to the overall program and not to individual programs. If a party does not appear in a program, it is sufficient if the party is taken into account elsewhere in the program according to its importance. For example, on the day after the “Triell” with the top people from the CDU, SPD and the Greens, there is the “Vierkampf” with the representatives of the CSU, AfD, FDP and Die Linke.

In total, more than 50 parties or associations are running for the Bundestag election. tagesschau.de presents the programs and goals of all parties, including those of the small and micro parties. ARD and ZDF will also be broadcast on September 13 and September 15, respectively Report “The dream of five percent. On the way to the small parties” to report. Even if, according to surveys, their chances of entering the Bundestag are low, they contribute to the broad spectrum of political parties through their different approaches and goals. This ensures that not only the larger and medium-sized parties appear in the overall election reporting, but that the entire spectrum of parties eligible for election is taken into account.