Discussion Forum “The General Elections in Germany 2017: Results and Resolutions”

2nd October 2017, Jitti Tingsabadh Room, Faculty of Law, Thammasat University (Tha Prachan Campus)

Jointly organized by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany Bangkok and the German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG)

Agenda

Report

On 2 October 2017, the German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG) and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany Bangkok jointly organised the discussion forum “The General Elections in Germany 2017: Results and Resolutions” at the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, Bangkok. After the opening remarks, delivered by H.E. Peter Prügel, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, CPG Director Henning Glaser shared his views on the elections and broader trends and patterns evolving in its wake with his presentation on “Prime Ministerial Government and Political Party Leadership in Germany – Background and Outlook after the 2017 Elections”. The highly instructive opening session of the event provided a fruitful background for the following moderated panel discussion, which led into a deeper discussion on causes and consequences of the election results. The discussants were Georg Gafron, Head, Thailand Office, Konrad Adenauer Foundation; Karl-Peter Schönfisch, Head, Thailand/Laos Office, Hanns Seidel Foundation; Stine Klapper, Head, Thailand Office, Friedrich Ebert Foundation; Katrin Bannach, Head, Myanmar and Thailand Programmes, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Regional Office for Southeast and East Asia Bangkok; H.E. Kasit Priomya, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and Ambassador to Germany and Dr. Sombat Benjasirimongkul, Phuket Rajabhat University, alumnus Hamburg University. The panel was moderated by CPG Program Officer Jan Kliem. Participants of the forum took the opportunity to engage with the panelists and comment on and question particularly dominant policies that played decisive roles in forming voter’s opinions prior to the election on September 24. Many of the issues gravitated around the question of integration of refugees, who have been coming to Europe and Germany in larger numbers since 2015. This, in turn, has led to the strengthening of a newly formed, contentious party, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), which was elected into the federal German parliament for the first time. Through the lively discussion at the event, it transpired that there is both a sense of worry with regards to some of the policies and ideas this new party stands for, but also a sense of confidence, for the debate in Germany takes place firmly within the boundaries of Germany’s democratic system and challenges to the fundamental structure of German society and politics will be successfully dealt with within these very boundaries. The discussants also shared their views on challenges and opportunities in forming a new government in Germany, and that Thailand as well as other international partners and friends can largely expect continuity in German foreign policy.

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