Eurotopics.net

After the Bundestag elections, SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz has spoken out in favour of a "traffic light" (red, green and yellow) coalition with the Greens and the FDP. But CDU leader Laschet has not given up yet and is seeking to form a government with his party at the helm. European commentators are for the most part optimistic about the situation.

The Social Democrats (SPD) have won the German election with 25.7 percent of the vote, but the CDU/CSU (24.1 percent) is not out of the running yet. A three-party coalition involving the Greens and the FDP is the most likely constellation. European media examine the prospects and see both opportunities and risks for their own countries as well as for Europe as a whole.

The Ukrainian parliament passed a new law aimed at curbing the influence of oligarchs last Thursday. The country's ultra-rich are now to be listed in a register kept by the National Security and Defence Council, whose members are appointed by the president - a cause of concern for some commentators.

Turkey is struggling with high inflation: consumer prices have risen by 19.25 percent in the past year and food prices by as much as 29 percent. President Erdoğan has accused five major supermarket chains of causing the extreme increase in prices and declared war on them. Commentators say his risky financial policy is to blame.

The Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) has won a surprise victory in local elections in Graz. Its candidate Elke Kahr could now lead a communist-social democrat-green coalition (red-red-green) coalition as mayor of Austria's second largest city. The conservative mayor Siegfried Nagl (ÖVP), who held his post for many years, resigned on the eve of the election. The KPÖ's success is above all due to its citizen-oriented policies, commentators believe.