CDU Wins German Election, AfD Surges

The conservative CDU and its Bavarian sister party, CSU, won Germany’s federal election with 28.6% of the votes as per the final results announced by the German election authority. The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) doubled their voter support since the 2021 election, securing 20.8% of the votes and becoming the second-largest party. AfD’s leader Alice Weidel is open to participating in the government, while CDU’s leader Friedrich Merz has consistently ruled out forming a coalition with AfD. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD suffered its worst election result, receiving only 16.4% of the vote. The Greens obtained 11.6% and, along with SPD, are potential coalition partners for CDU. Meanwhile, Die Linke garnered 8.8%, and both FDP and the new BSW party fell below the five percent threshold.