Following Sunday's federal election results, political analyst Markus Ziener says that Germany "remains a rather conservative country". In his view, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), falling to 16% of the vote, has almost become "almost mutated into a party that only serves to guarantee a majority". For Ziener, the challenge for the new coalition will be to prevent the AfD from continuing to grow before the next elections in 2029. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES