Twenty-seven years ago today, on September 27, 1998 (August 7, 1998 lunar calendar), Kohl, Germany's longest-ruling chancellor after the war, stepped down. Schroeder became the new chancellor of Germany September 27, 1998 The end of the Kohl era. After 16 years of self-cultivation, the German Social Democratic Party finally got its wish in the national election held on September 27, bringing down Kohl, the longest-ruling chancellor in postwar German history. Unlike previous coalition partners who defected and led to a change of government, this is the first time that the opposition party has removed an incumbent chancellor through a general election. This election marks the end of the Kohl era and the beginning of a new era. According to the official statistics on the morning of the 28th, the Social Democratic Party won 40.9% of the votes, an increase of 4.5% from the 1994 election; the League Party won 35.2% of the votes, 6.2% less than the previous election, the biggest loser of this election; the Green Party, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Social Party won 6.7%; 6.2% and 5.1% respectively. Except for the Democratic Social Party, the Green Party and the Liberal Democratic Party won less votes than the previous election. Turnout in this election was high, with 81.5% of 60.50 million voters voting. At 18:00 on the evening of the 27th, after the results of the sample election on German TV 2 were announced, the German Social Democratic Party headquarters in Bonn cheered, allowing the Democratic Party Chancellor candidate Gerhard Schröder and the Social Democratic Party Chairperson La Fontaine to join hands on a temporary stage on the side of the road to thank the cheering crowd. Mr. Schroeder said he would maintain economic stability and development, maintain domestic security and, above all, maintain continuity in foreign policy, and that his top priority was to tackle unemployment. The Social Democratic Party headquarters, which had long been neglected, was crowded on the evening of the 27th. The lobby on the ground floor became a temporary studio for the TV station, and the main leaders of the Social Democratic Party, such as Mr. Schroeder and La Fontaine, were chased by dozens of cameras. The leaders of the Social Democratic Party at all levels toasted and congratulated each other, and sweaty journalists from various countries crowded around the crowd, searching for interview targets. When the reporters left at 23 o'clock, the building of the Social Democratic Party headquarters was still brightly lit and crowded. In sharp contrast to the joyous atmosphere of the Social Democratic Party headquarters, the CDU headquarters is 100 meters away. In the past few decades, Kohl, as the chairperson of the CDU, has four times accepted the congratulations of his colleagues and relatives and friends as a winner after the election. After the election sampling results were announced on the evening of the 27th, the atmosphere in the hall was very dull for a while, and many people did not want to believe the facts in front of them. However, Kohl still did not lose his statesmanship, and took to the podium to announce that he accepted the failure and took responsibility for it. He said that at the upcoming party congress, he will no longer be the chairperson of the party. After that, the main topic in the hall is no longer the general election, but who will become the chairperson of the CDU and how to revive the CDU. On the 28th, it was reported that the former federal finance minister Weigel will resign as the chairperson of the CSU. Kohl was credited with bringing about German reunification, the euro, and European unity much further. But he has not paid enough attention to domestic issues in recent years, especially economic development and employment. About 4 million of Germany's unemployed army is the main reason for his defeat this time. Others believe that Kohl has been in power for too long, and voters want to see new faces. This time voters made a choice for Kohl that he should have made for himself. Schroeder, who won this election, believes that the Social Democratic Party won a big victory and won more votes than expected, mainly due to three factors. First, the unity of the party; second, the election platform is accurate, and the issues of job creation and social justice advocated by the platform are the most concerned issues for Germans at present; third, the candidate proposed for prime minister is qualified. Judging from the current distribution of seats, the Social Democratic Party has full freedom when choosing a ruling partner. In theory, the Social Democratic Party and any party entering the parliament can form a majority, thus forming a coalition government. Late at night on the 27th, the leaders of the Social Democratic Party have held informal contacts with the leaders of the Green Party on the issue of coalition governance. At 12:30 noon on the 28th, the Green Party officially announced that it will form a negotiating delegation to negotiate with the Social Democratic Party on the formation of a coalition government. Mr. Schroeder had previously hinted at talks with the Greens to form a government. Germany's Basic Law stipulates that a new government must be formed within 30 days of a general election. According to estimates, the new government led by Mr. Schroeder is expected to be sworn in the week of October 19-23.