The conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) ticket, or Union, gained the highest percentage of seats in the snap German election held on Sunday, ranging from 28.5 to 29%, according to the latest exit polls.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was calculated as reaching 19.5% to 20% of the vote for second place, while the Social Democrats (SPD) suffered what many analysts are terming a “historic defeat”, ostensibly taking 16 to 16.5%. The latter is the worst showing for the socialists since the 19th century.
The pro-environment Greens (Grune), SPD’s remaining coalition partner in the outgoing government, were calculated at 13.5%.
The Free Democratic Party (FDP) was on the cusp of entering the German parliament, as exit polls have it at 5%. It was FDP president Christian Lindner’s departure last November from the three-party coalition, headed by the SPD, that generated the snap election.
However, the election of Germany’s new chancellor by the Bundestag won’t take place until a governing coalition has been formed. This could take months. In 2017, coalition negotiations dragged on for six months.
If initial forecasts hold, CDU/CSU candidate and leader Friedrich Merz, who led its parliamentary group when the latter party was in Bundestag’s main opposition, appears as the frontrunner to succeed outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who headed up the SPD ticket. The result, if confirmed, means Merz can start talks on forming a government this week.
