NATO chief Mark Rutte congratulated the winner of the elections in Germany, conservative Friedrich Merz, and said he looks forward to working with him “at this crucial moment for our common security“, NOVA reported.
“It is vital that Europe increases its defense spending and your leadership will be of key importance“, he added.
We recall that key elections for the country and Europe were held in Germany today. This is also the first vote to be held on the Old Continent after the new reality in relations between the United States and Europe became clear. The first exit poll results are now out.
The German conservative CDU/CSU alliance, led by Friedrich Merz, won the elections with 28.6% of the vote. Voter turnout was 84% - the highest since 1990.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party came in second with 20.4%, which is roughly double its result in the last election in 2021.
In third place are the current ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Scholz with 16.3%. Next are the Greens with 12.3% and the Left with 8.6%.
The big intrigue continues to be whether two more parties will manage to jump the barrier. The Free Democratic Party has 4.9%, and the “Zara Wagenknecht Alliance“ has 4.7%.
The leader of the German “Greens” party and its candidate for chancellor, Robert Habeck, said he was satisfied with the election results, German television “Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk” reported.
Despite the losses compared to the previous elections, Habeck expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the “Greens” in today's elections, which garnered 13% support, according to data from the “Infratest Dimap” institute.
After our withdrawal from the three-way ruling coalition in the surveys, the “Greens” "They were getting less than 10%, but they managed to overcome this challenge," said Habeck.
"None of this was certain to happen," he added.
According to him, the "Greens" are ready to participate in the next German government, but he specified that the mandate to form a government is "in the hands of Friedrich Merz and the Christian Democratic Union."
The SPD Secretary General congratulated Friedrich Merz and the CDU and acknowledged a "historic defeat" for his party.
"This is a historic defeat, a truly bitter evening." "It is clear that these elections were not lost in the last eight weeks," Matthias Miersch told public broadcaster ARD after the SPD was predicted to win just 16 percent of the vote.
“The coalition had been in turbulent waters for several years and now it has been voted in. What kind of government is now formed, how much the SPD can or should take on government responsibility, we simply cannot say at the moment. Merz has a mandate to govern and we will have to wait and see what constellations are possible,“ Miersch added.
Asked about the future of outgoing SPD chancellor Olaf Scholz, Merzch said: “I cannot say that I will be able to handle this. We had a chancellor who led the country through difficult times but ultimately could not win over the voters. This is a fact on this disappointing evening“.
Boyko Borisov congratulated Friedrich Merz and the CDU/CSU on the election victory in Germany.
"Europe needs a strong Germany. Bulgaria needs a strong Germany. Let's move forward towards security and prosperity. Heartfelt congratulations, dear Friedrich Merz and the CDU/CSU, on this decisive election victory", the GERB leader wrote on the social network X.
The co-chair of “We Continue the Change” Kiril Petkov congratulated Friedrich Merz on the victory in the elections in Germany.
“Congratulations to Friedrich Merz! At the Munich conference last week, we met in person and I am convinced that with his leadership, Europe can be stronger in these troubled times”, he said on Facebook.