Latest projections, with 222 of 299 constituencies declared, indicate that the CDU is set to be the largest party in the next German parliament with 29% of the vote, while the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has doubled its vote to become the second biggest force with 21%.
The conservative Christian Democrats – along with Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union – together pulled slightly less than 30% of the vote, but declared that they had won the election. Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats slumped to 16%, their worst defeat in the party’s history.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz will be looking to partner with two other parties to form a coalition by Easter, but that path is, as yet, unclear, given the election results. The CDU/CSU result was described as “underwhelming” by the Economist who noted it “hoped to win over 35% of the vote, but in fact scored its second-worst result ever”.
“I am also aware of the scale of the task that now lies ahead of us. I approach it with the utmost respect, and I know that it will not be easy,” he told supporters – but he has also ruled out any coalition with the AfD.
Alice Weidel of the AfD celebrated the party’s projected vote surge saying: “We have doubled our votes while others lose half of their votes”.
“If, however, the CDU betrays its manifesto and cooperates with the left, then I can assure you that the next election will be quicker than is anticipated and we will overtake the CDU as the largest party,” she added.
She told a live TV debate between party leader that her party is “now accepted as a peoples’ party” – adding that AfD “are prepared to work with anybody.” She said that the German people “really want a coalition between the CDU and AfD – that has been excluded, we need to accept that at the moment.”
Peter Altmaier, a former German economic minister, told BBC News Channel that the success of the AfD shocked” him.
“Millions” of Germans have been concerned about “large scale” illegal migration, he says, adding that it is an issue that both the European Union and outgoing German government have not fixed.
“I think this is a matter of utmost concern for Friedrich Merz right now… If he cannot resolve this problem, I expect the extremist parties to grow further.”
The election was called after Olaf Scholz lost a vote of confidence in parliament in December, some two months after his three-party coalition government collapsed. “This is a bitter election result for the Social Democratic Party, and it is also an election defeat,” Scholz said today.