Friedrich Merz’s Conservatives have won the German elections with 28.6%, well ahead of rival parties but short of the expected 30%, but even before the results were known, indicating his political intentions from the start, Merz said his top priority was European unity so that “step by step we can really achieve independence from the US”, on Monday, the 24th of February, reports the British broadcaster BBC.
The other big winner in Sunday’s vote was the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which enjoyed a record second-place result of 20.8%.
MERZ, 69, HAS NEVER HELD A MINISTERIAL POST BUT HAS PROMISED TO TAKE A LEADING ROLE IN EUROPE AND INCREASE SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE IF HE BECOMES GERMANY’S NEXT CHANCELLOR.
Merz’s first priority will be to try to form a coalition between his Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and Scholz’s centre-left party, despite the Social Democrats’ all-time worst result of 16.4%.
Merz’s CDU/CSU and the SPD leadership will meet on Monday, but Scholz will not take part in the talks. Merz wants to form a government by Easter. This could be possible as the two parties have 328 seats, giving them a majority of 12 in the 630-seat parliament.
After the collapse of Olaf Scholz’s coalition at the end of last year, Merz tried to win a strong mandate for a clear coalition, but only won enough seats because two smaller parties did not get into parliament.
A two-party coalition would allow him to solve as many of Germany’s problems as possible in four years, he said, from the stagnant economy to closing Germany’s borders to illegal migrants.
GERMAN VOTERS TURNED OUT IN LARGE NUMBERS – 83%. SUCH A HIGH TURNOUT HAD NOT BEEN SEEN SINCE 1990, BEFORE GERMAN REUNIFICATION.
The CDU/CSU’s most likely partner was always the Social Democrats, known in Germany as the “GroKo” or grand coalition. However, the fragmentation of the German electorate makes the success of the traditional parties uncertain.
Compared to four years ago, support for the AfD is up 10%, fuelled by anger over high prices and a series of deadly attacks in German cities. Three of them took place during the election campaign.
The party, led by Alice Weidel, also benefited from a successful TikTok campaign, which attracted a large number of new voters. The party also received support from Trump’s top officials J. D. Vance and Elon Musk.
According to a poll conducted by the public broadcaster ZDF, the AfD was well ahead of the other parties in the East, winning around 34% of the vote.
“Germans have voted for change,” said Weidel. She said that Friedrich Merz’s attempt to form a coalition would ultimately fail: “We will have new elections – I don’t think we will have to wait another four years.”
But just as the electoral map in the east turned light blue, much of the rest of Germany turned black – the colour of the CDU/CSU.
“This party only exists because there have been problems that have not been solved. They are happy if these problems get bigger and bigger,” Merz said, dismissing the AfD victory. “We have to solve these problems… then this party, the AfD, will disappear.”
MERZ WAS EQUALLY HARSH ON THE NEW TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, CRITICISING ON SUNDAY THE US FOR ITS INTERVENTION AFTER THE VICTORY, WHICH HAS BEEN “NO LESS DRAMATIC, DRASTIC AND ULTIMATELY SCANDALOUS THAN THAT OF MOSCOW”.
President Trump, however, welcomed Merz’s victory. He said it was proof that the Germans, like the Americans, are fed up with the “lack of common sense” in politics, especially on energy and immigration issues.
Merz’s victory was quickly welcomed by many European leaders. For example, French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron spoke of coming together in a time of uncertainty to “confront the greatest challenges of the world and of our continent”, while UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for “improving our common security and delivering growth for both our countries”.
Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats still rely on older voters to succeed, while voters aged 18-24 seem much more interested in both the AfD and, the contrasting party, the Left, whose popularity has risen sharply in the polls in recent weeks.
The Left Party’s poll results surged after the popular “TikTok” videos of leader Heidi Reichinnek’s fiery speeches, according to ARD data, and from less than 5% it ended up with 8.8%, winning 64 seats in parliament, official results show.