Christian Democratic Union chief Friedrich Merz will likely replace Olaf Scholz as chancellor
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has won the snap elections in the German Bundestag, defeating Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats. The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) has shown the second-best result and is projected to have more MPs in the federal parliament than at any time in the party’s history.
According to preliminary results released by Germany’s top electoral body on Monday, the CDU and its sister party CSU together received 28.6% of the votes, which means that CDU leader Friedrich Merz will likely become the next chancellor.
The AfD has received 20.8% of the votes, while the Social Democrats (SPD) has won 16.4%. The Greens came in fourth with 11.6%.
Early election was called last year after the collapse of the ruling coalition made up of SPD, the Green, and the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP). FDP leader Christian Lindner pulled his support due to the disagreements over budget. His party has received only 4.3% of the votes, prompting Lindner to announce his retirement from active politics.
The AfD has performed the strongest in the eastern part of the country, winning the elections in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Brandenburg, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Despite becoming the second-most popular political force across the country, it will be hard for the AfD to enter a government coalition because other major parties consider its policies “extremist” and rule out any partnership.
In a post on X on Sunday night, Merz promised to “strive to form a government that would represent the entire German population and would solve the problems of our country.” He expressed hope that Germany will have a new government by Easter.
AfD co-leader and candidate for chancellor, Alice Weidel, has thanked the voters. “The AfD was able to double its result. The incredible success makes it clear: citizens want political change,” she wrote on X.
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