Germans love their boardgames and an absolute classic is "Fang den Hut" or "Catch the hat."
Teams of little hats move around the board trying to catch one other –
or the special golden hat.
But today we're putting a political twist on this family favorite and playing "Catch
the voter."
Here are our parties, raring to go, ready for the race to parliament.
They stretch from the far left of the political spectrum to the far right, and they're all
trying to get our voter to support them.
But who is this voter, and what do they want from the parties?
All German citizens over the age of 18 can vote in federal elections.
That's a total of 60.4 million people, just over half of whom are women.
It's a pretty multicultural group, with almost a third having at least one parent who was
born in another country.
One of the most interesting aspects is age.
Less than 15% of the voting population are younger than 30.
Nearly 40% are over 60, and half of those are over 70.
It also matters where the voters are.
Germany's cities and regions have strong local identities.
Their priorities are affected by things like the local economy, infrastructure and even
religion.
Some of the issues on voters' minds are very much signs of the times.
No prizes in this game for guessing that the COVID-19 pandemic is right up there.
In Germany, the regional state authorities have a lot of decision-making power in areas
like health and education.
During the pandemic, this led to a patchwork of different rules across the country.
But what do voters want to see done at the federal level?
The next government should dedicate itself to problems that have been highlighted by
the pandemic, such as faltering digitalization.
First is, ensure full immunization of the complete population in Germany.
Second is no more lockdowns.
I want my future government to restore my freedom.
We have to be prepared.
If there's a mutation, we have to be prepared to answer to that as quickly as possible.
Next up, climate change – a topic that's difficult to ignore after the deadly floods
in Germany this summer.
In a recent survey more than 80% of participants said they want to see urgent action on climate
protection – a view shared across generational and party lines.
Natural catastrophes were always really far away, but at the moment they're right on our
doorstep.
It feels like the whole world is burning right now.
I think we need an earlier coal phase-out and instead invest in more renewable energy.
I hope the next government interferes more in our daily lives, so that we understand
that things can't go on like this.
You need to propose solutions for all the cuts you're going to make to social lives
and industry.
Immigration & foreign policy have of course been huge topics in Germany in recent years,
and they're back in focus following recent developments in Afghanistan.
This is one area that polarizes voters, and it has pushed some away from the larger centrist
parties.
When it comes to refugees, Germany clearly needs more regulation, checks and, if necessary,
deportations.
We need workers and these people need somewhere to live.
Especially if you consider that Germany played a role in the reason why many of these people
had to flee in the first place.
I also think that the EU needs to find more solutions for sharing the load fairly between
the countries.
Issues which always feature heavily include education, the economy and jobs, security,
and the distant dream of digitalization.
And remember all those over-60s voters?
Their voting power is clear in the prominence of "Rentenpolitik" or pension policy in the
party manifestos.
Germany hasn't yet jumped on the worldwide trend towards personality-driven politics.
Once again in this year's line-up of chancellor candidates, there's no sign of a larger-than-life
maverick, or celebrity-turned-politician.
But in any case, voters here don't directly elect the Chancellor.
They vote for members of parliament – and they're the ones who'll decide who gets Angela
Merkel's old job.
Each voter does, however, have two votes – one for a local candidate and one for a party
on the national level.
This means they could vote tactically for two different parties, focusing on local issues
with their first vote and ideological interest with the second.
In the last election in 2017, a quarter of voters split their ballots in this way.
While TV is still the main source of information for most Germans, the switch to digital platforms
has begun, with smaller parties, especially on the right, having made the most ground
so far.
Some of the larger parties are trying to catch up on Facebook, hoping to bag themselves some
boomers.
But they've also begun to make a play for younger voters on platforms like TikTok – with
varying degrees of success and plenty of cringe.
So, on September 26th it's time to roll the dice again.
Which groups will have the biggest turnout – men or women, young or old?
People in the east or west, or people in the cities or in the countryside?
And what will going through their minds in the voting booth – will it be migration?
Jobs?
Climate?
Or simply the faces of the top candidates?
It's all to play for in the 2021 finale of "Catch the voter."