Friedrich Merz-led bloc wins elections in Germany

According to official preliminary results, the CDU/CSU bloc led Germany’s elections with 28.6% of the vote, followed by the AfD in second place with 20.8%, and the SPD in third with 16.4%. The Greens and The Left have also secured seats in parliament.

Friedrich Merz Photo: REUTERS / Kai Pfaffenbach

As reported on the German Federal Election Commission’s website in the early hours of February 24, the conservative CDU/CSU bloc, led by Friedrich Merz, won Germany’s snap elections, securing 28.6% of the vote.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came in second with 20.8%, while the center-left Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) took third place with 16.4%. The left-liberal Greens (Alliance 90/The Greens) finished fourth with 11.6%, followed by The Left Party, which received 8.8%.

The liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the left-wing populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht, BSW) failed to pass the 5% threshold required to enter the Bundestag. According to the Election Commission, the FDP received only 4.3%, while BWS narrowly missed the threshold with 4.972%.

CDU/CSU and SPD likely to have enough mandates for a "grand coalition"

The number of seats won by CDU/CSU and SPD is expected to be sufficient to form a ruling "grand coalition".

However, incumbent German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on February 23 that he would not personally participate in coalition negotiations with Friedrich Merz and the CDU/CSU bloc and would not be part of the new government. "I had put myself forward as a candidate for chancellor," Scholz stated. The German tabloid Bild interpreted his words as a sign of resignation.

Friedrich Merz has promised to form a new German government by April 21, 2025, before Easter. However, he declined to speculate on potential coalition partners, emphasizing that his party would not govern alongside the AfD.

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