Germans go to the polls next week in what many are calling the most consequential election in almost two decades. The big question is who can replace longtime Chancellor Angela Merkel.

With no clear successor leading the way, polls suggest a three-way coalition government is likely amid an increasingly fractured political landscape. Germans don’t directly vote for a chancellor but the three parties topping the polls have already named their picks for the job. Merkel’s center-right Christian Democratic Union has chosen veteran politician Armin Laschet. And either Olaf Scholz of the center-left Social Democratic Party or Annalena Baerbock of the Greens could become chancellor if their parties win the most seats.

In this episode of The Stream, we take a look at the candidates vying to replace Merkel, the issues voters are concerned about, and discuss the impact a three-way coalition could have.

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