The Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) bloc won the early elections for the Bundestag, held on February 23, winning 28.6% of the vote. This was announced on its website by the Federal Election Commission.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) came in second place for the first time in its history, doubling its share of the vote compared to the 2021 elections and receiving 20.8%.
In third place is the Social Democratic Party of Germany /SPD/ of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. It was supported by 16.4% of voters - a third less than in 2021.
This is the worst result in the party's history for the Social Democrats.
The Greens and the Left Party followed. They received 11.6% and 8.8% of the vote, respectively.
Sahra Wagenknecht's "Alliance for Reason and Justice" and the Free Democratic Party of former Finance Minister Christian Lindner failed to overcome the 5% barrier and did not enter the Bundestag. They receive 4.9% and 4.3% of the vote, respectively.
Wagenknecht's party had hoped to enter parliament until the last moment, it fell by only 0.028 percentage points to 5%.
In the new parliament, the CDU/CSU will receive 208 seats, the Alternative for Germany - 151, the SPD - 121, the Greens - 85, and the Left Party - 64. Another seat will go to a non-party MP.
In this situation, the most realistic option for creating a new governing coalition is the formation of an alliance of the CDU/CSU and the SPD (the so-called grand coalition). The other parties categorically refuse to cooperate with the "Alternative for Germany". For conservatives, the Left Party is also considered unacceptable. The CSU has repeatedly rejected cooperation with the Greens. On Sunday evening, conservative chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz announced his intention to form a government before Easter (April 20).
The CDU/CSU bloc will begin exploratory talks to gauge the willingness of its rivals to participate in the new government. Coalition talks will then take place, during which the programs that will form the basis of the future coalition agreement will be discussed point by point. Until a new government is formed, the members of Scholz's cabinet will continue to perform their duties. The inaugural session of the new Bundestag must be held no later than 30 days after the elections, i.e. before March 25.