Provisional results from Germany’s national election show that Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) emerged victorious, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) surged to become the country’s second-largest party, while the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) suffered a major defeat.
CDU secured 208 of the 630 Bundestag seats, while AfD won 152. The SPD dropped to 120 seats, and the Greens to 85. The pro-business Free Democrats failed to reach the electoral threshold, while the Left party and Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance remained minor forces. Merz, advocating for European unity amid challenges from the U.S. and Russia, is expected to become Germany’s next leader, likely forming a coalition with the SPD.
AfD celebrated its best-ever result but remains politically isolated, as mainstream parties refuse to collaborate due to its ties to right-wing extremism. The election was held early after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s unpopular coalition collapsed, and he will remain in a caretaker role until the new government forms.
