The centerleft Social Democratic Party in Germany has narrowly claimed victory in an election that marks an end to the 16year era of Angela Merkel’s conservative chancellorship. We look at what this means for Europe and the world with Yanis Varoufakis, a member of the Greek Parliament and the former finance minister of Greece. The SDP’s narrow victory should be viewed critically, says Varoufakis, noting that the party “ruthlessly” practiced austerity in 2008 and 2009. “Not much has changed,” Varoufakis says. “It’s not as if an opposition party won.”

#DemocracyNow

Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on nearly 1,400 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream 89AM ET: https://democracynow.org

Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today: https://democracynow.org/donate

FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE:
YouTube:    / democracynow  
Facebook:   / democracynow  
Twitter:   / democracynow  
Instagram:   / democracynow  
SoundCloud:   / democracynow  
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/demo...
Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe