German elections: CDU wins, Merz aims for coalition by Easter

The centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its leader Friedrich Merz were the big winners of German federal elections on Sunday with 28% of the vote, provisional results confirmed.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) was second with 20%, doubling its vote share from Germany’s last election in 2021, which turned out to be the best result for a far-right party in the country since World War II.

However, several smaller parties tipped to make the 5% threshold needed to enter the Bundestag failed to do so, including the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the left-wing conservative Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW).

For hours, preliminary results showed the BSW had managed to pass the threshold — a result which would have deeply complicated Merz’s desire to form a two-party coalition government

Ultimately, the BSW scored a nail-biting 4,97%, while the far-left Die Linke party won 8% of the vote in a last-minute success following a viral social media campaign.

Olaf Scholz’s centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) party came in third with 16% of the vote — the worst score for the party since 1887.

In a speech, Scholz called the results “bitter” and claimed responsibility for the party’s failure to score with voters.

While the results will be confirmed as official only on 14 March, according to German election regulations, the provisional results can be taken as final as all the votes across the constituencies have been counted.

Coalition talks begin

The SPD said it was open to talks coalition talks with the CDU, as members of the party hinted at a new leadership structure set to be announced on Monday in which Scholz will take a backseat.

The party’s current co-leader, Lars Klingbeil, is tipped to become the new parliamentary chairman.

A so-called “GroKo”, or “Grand Coalition” between the CDU and the SPD, has been widely suggested as the most favourable result, as Merz has stated he would aim to avoid an ideologically messy three-way grouping

The CDU leader has set his sights on a new government by Easter, noting in a televised appearance on Sunday evening that by that time, Germany wouldn’t have had a government with a parliamentary majority for six months.

Whether Merz’s timeline is realistic is unclear, as SPD members hinted that upcoming coalition talks would be difficult with both sides disagreeing on several policy points.

One SPD lawmaker told Euronews the results marked a “massive defeat” for the party. He said that although SPD members would engage in talks to form a coalition with the CDU, trust in Merz was at an “all time low” after he cooperated with the far-right to push through harsh migration proposals during the election campaign.

The SPD’s deputy leader Klara Geywitz told Bayerischer Rundfunk that the SPD’s seat losses will cause the party “major problems across the board.”

“Friedrich Merz’s CDU has presented an election program that would create additional billions in gaps in the already strained budget,” she added.

Members of the SPD have also pushed for the right to veto entering into a coalition with the CDU, a process that would require the agreement of a majority of members of the party in order for a coalition to take shape.

AfD clears in the east

Meanwhile, the AfD cleaned up in east Germany, with results showing the far-right party ahead in areas of former East Germany, including Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia.

The AfD’s co-leader Alice Weidel said she was open for coalition discussions with the CDU as she celebrated the party’s historic victory on Sunday, a suggestion Merz dismissed.

The party is now set to be the largest opposition force in parliament, having gained a 10-point increase in their result in 2021.

“We will have fresh elections,” Weidel said. “I don’t think we’ll have to wait another four years.”

Merz has pledged that the AfD would cease to exist once his party solved the “problems” that led to its ride.

“The party only exists because there have been problems that haven’t been solved. They’re happy if these problems get worse and worse,” Merz said.