After 16 years, Chancellor Angela Merkel is stepping down, opening the race to various contenders. Who is in the lead, what do they stand for, and what's in store for the Germans? We have enlisted Katrin back to the podcast, who has many of the answers to our questions. 

As the election happens in real-time as you are listening to this recording, here are some sources to follow the vote counts:

For highly proficient German speakers: https://www.zdf.de/

English versions are found at https://www.dw.com/en/top-stories/s-9097 and https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-58644812

We will follow up with Part 2 after the election has concurred, welcoming Wim back to the show, who will be able to chat with us about the "lay of the land" with boots on the ground.

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