Another important election to be held in 2017, with its significane deriving partially from the fact that Germany (of all countries!) has become a kind of standard-bearer for the kind of left-liberal conventional wisdom that has recently suffered thumping defeats at the hands of the likes of Donald Trump and the Eurosceptic camp in the UK.
Since I'm personally affected by this election as a German citizen, here are my five cents: I think Merkel will be re-elected no matter what. Her party has stabilized in the polls and there is no feasible constellation excluding the CDU. The SPD might have recruited Martin Schulz, who is currently the subject of a media hype, but I fail to see how he could possibly close the 15% gap with the Christian Democrats. A red-red-green coalition remains out of reach because they lack the numbers, and in any case the CDU has a greater variety of options as its rapid leftward shift has mostly removed ideological obstacles to entering a coalition with parties such as the Greens. The AfD's performance will also be of great interest even though it won't have any practical impact because of the iron cordon sanitaire pulled up by the established parties (although it might become strong enough to force CDU, SPD and the Greens in a three-way coalition).
Personally, I will vote for the FDP, of which I remain a card-carrying member. The 5% threshold should not be a problem this time around, as it draws sufficient support from the small, but potent segment of voters dissatisfied with the CDU but hesitant to vote for the AfD. I must say that I will support my party without much enthusiasm however, as I have become increasingly sceptical of its Europhilia and sometimes excessive anti-AfD rhetoric. I was also disappointed when it was announced that the FDP would endorse Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) for President, in order to "set an example against right-wing populism", as the leadership tried to justify the decision. I would also disapprove of the FDP serving in a coalition under Merkel again - not only because I dislike her policies, but also because she has destroyed the FDP already once during the 2009-2013 tenure.