All eyes are on Angela Merkel. Political pundits across Europe are predicting that she will emerge as the winner in the German elections tomorrow, not for the first or the second time but for the fourth time in a row, especially because the first-time young voters are supposed to back her up tomorrow. Angela Merkel has already been the Chancellor for the last 12 years.

Youth unemployment is the lowest in Germany compared to the rest of the continent. Therefore it is next to impossible for Martin Schulz of the Social Democratic party, her main contender, to get them to vote for him. Merkel’s popularity is unimpeded, and the Germans want peace, stability and a strong leader for the European Union. The Social Democrats did not win the post of prime minister in the recent elections held in Norway, and neither are they predicted to turn the table tomorrow. The unbridgeable gap between Merkel and Schulz is not what worries people in other European countries. The contest now is about which party will emerge as the third largest party in Germany.

On most important political issues, like immigration, employment, and welfare benefits there seems to be an emerging boring consensus now in Germany.

Angela Merkel has dumped her previous open-door policy, which led to a huge refugee influx into the country. More than a million migrants arrived in Germany in 2015. Angela Merkel has tried to reduce the influence of Germany´s right-wing populist party, AFD, by proposing and supporting the idea of a burqa ban and adopting the hardliner view that it was a mistake to let so many immigrants into the country in such a short span of time, and in the future such bountiful measures will not be taken.

The question now is if Germany is going to resemble the rest of Europe. Tighter immigration and asylum rules are becoming an acceptable norm even for the left-leaning Social Democrats, not just in Germany but also among other countries such as Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

Even though Angela Merkel may emerge as the winner, the complexity of politics will force her to form a coalition with several other parties. So the question is who will be part of the coalition and not so much if the AFD anti-immigration party will become the game changer and make a noticeable presence in the German federal parliament. The party may not have any direct influence despite contesting the elections with slogans like, “Islam is not part of Germany.”

Merkel has ruled out any co-operation with AFD, so the party might not change the current policies of Germany, but in order to minimize its influence we will surely see a Germany that has tighter rules on migration issues.

The big question tomorrow is how the undecided voters will vote, or those Germans who have seen the gap between the rich and poor grow in the last decade. Germany, too, has unfortunately seen the rising number of working poor, people who have work but are unfortunately not able to make the ends meet. These voters and the entry of AFD in the Bundestag is the new sensation, giving rise to the concept of a moderate right-wing populist party.

Will AFD behave as a responsible right-wing party? Will it undergo a metamorphosis and become a moderate right-wing populist party like the one they have in Norway, which supports the center-right liberal party, thus forming a stable government? This is anybody´s guess at the moment.

Historically speaking, after the end of the Second World War, this is a sea change in German politics. All eyes will therefore be on who emerges as the third largest party. The European Union needs stability and Brexit is already taking its toll by the uncertainty created as a result of one of the most important EU countries leaving the Union.

EU needs to settle down and still has to sort out the complex issue of Brexit, which may turn out to be a lengthier process than ever conceived by any of the Brexiteers. The economic powerhouse of Europe is heading for elections and the Europeans will heave a sigh of relief if Angela Merkel is able to have a decisive majority with the coalition partners without relying on the AFD party.