国际英语资讯:Spotlight: Merkels party wins commanding yet lower votes as far-right AfD to debut in parl_时事

国际英语资讯:Spotlight: Merkels party wins commanding yet lower votes as far-right AfD to debut in parl

Gerhard Stahl, a Berliner who has been an SPD since 1970s, now professor with College of Europe in Brussels, said Schulz should not hold the whole responsibility for SPD's loss.

"Being an opposition party can also give the people an alternative. A lot of people are dissatisfied with the ruling coalition, if the two largest party group form a grand coalition again, there will be no alternative for voters. If the government let us down in the coming years, we can vote for SPD instead," Stahl told Xinhua.

"The result (of SPD) is foreseeable. It is a difficult situation with immigrants this time around, but you should not overlook that there are 85 percent voters who had voted normal parliamentary parties, it showed the strength of German system that all these parties can cooperate and Germany is a stable democracy," Stahl told Xinhua.

AFD'S CELEBRATIONS MET WITH PROTEST

In another development, the AfD crossed the five-percent-vote threshold on Sunday came into the new parliament for the first time. It is also the first far-right populist party in the Bundestag since WWII.

"We will hunt Merkel! We want to bring our country and people back," said Alexander Gauland, one of the two candidates of the AfD in this election who always accuses Merkel's policies in refugees and euro crisis.

"It's a historical and outstanding result for AfD. We will experience more pluralism in the Bundestag, and we will experience a lively democracy through the AfD," said AfD's politician Bjoern Hoecke.