2025 German Elections - Electoral Approach for MERA25 Germany - Afstemning ved DiEM25 medlemmer

Though failing to make it to the European parliament, MERA25 Germany, our german electoral wing, made a step forward with an exciting electoral campaign which quadrupled its membership. While our next local election is already on the horizon, with MERA25 running in the local elections in Hamburg in March 2025, an important decision needs to be made: Should MERA25 run in the German general elections in September 2025, and if yes, how?

The coordination team of MERA25 and DiEM25 in Germany and the Coordinating Collective of DiEM25 think that the election is a worthwhile next goal for the development of our organisation in Germany. There is no political alternative like ours in the German party landscape, meaning that there literally is no other progressive party that supports a free Palestine. And although running for election is already a major challenge, we would like to combine this with the further development of our organisation.

To stand for election, the party needs to be formally established and provide lists of candidates in the 16 federal states and then collect over 27,000 signatures in total by the summer in order to appear on the ballot paper (if we don't make it in one state, we will still be on the ballot paper in the states where we collect enough signatures). Although this is a much greater challenge than the 4,000 signatures for the European elections (Germany-wide), we are in a much better position in terms of numbers and can devote more time to this!

Goals that we would strive for in connection with the election:

• Building up our nationwide structures with regional organisations and multiplying our local activities

• Recruiting members by collecting signatures and campaigning with the aim of quadrupling our membership again

• Doubling our European election result to 240,000 votes in order to receive party funding with more than 0.5% of the vote

• Prepare the ground for our breakthrough in the elections in Berlin 2026 (the state where we had with 1.4% the best result in the European elections 2024 and have the highest number of party members)

Important note: German electoral law does not permit joint electoral lists (different parties running together in a single political formation). There are, however, other more indirect forms of possible cooperation between parties, which are briefly mentioned in the voting options below.

In order to set a clear strategic direction for MERA25 Germany for the next 12 months and allow our party members to plan accordingly, we ask you to choose from the following three options:

Option A: MERA25 will strive to be on the ballot via its own electoral lists in as many states as possible, in order to reach the goals described above. Potential alliances and political endorsements in states where MERA25 does not manage to get on the ballot itself, or when other parties offer their support to us in exchange for running candidates on our lists, remain on the table and will be explored on a case-by-case basis with strict adherence to our values, core policies and organisational principles.

Option B: MERA25 will offer to abstain from setting up its own electoral lists, and invite other progressive parties to enter negotiations with the goal of pledging MERA25’s and DiEM25’s support to their electoral effort(s) in exchange for policy concessions. Depending on the outcome of the negotiations (if any), MERA25 may be able to run some candidates on the lists of the endorsed party or parties, but will not appear on the ballot by name as MERA25. Any agreement reached will be subject to approval by the DiEM25 membership by means of another All-Member-Vote. Because of time constraints it will not be possible to pursue MERA25’s own electoral effort after a negotiation phase.

Option C: MERA25 will not run in the German federal elections in 2025. Instead it will focus on other goals, like participating in local and regional elections, before potentially considering a run for national parliament in the future, once the party has grown further and enhanced its capacities.

Both DiEM25’s Coordinating Collective and the German coordination team for MERA25 and DiEM25 in Germany clearly favour option A, after careful evaluation of the political situation and the advantages as well as disadvantages of all options.

Which option should MERA25 Germany pursue?