Olaf Scholz, Chancellor, Admits Loss
Following what he called “a bitter election result,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that his center-left Social Democrats (SPD) had lost. In a national legislative election, his party had its worst performance since the war, finishing third according to projections from ARD and ZDF public television.
Even with the win, Merz still has a difficult time establishing a government. Though the process is anticipated to be difficult, he stated his intention of forming a coalition by Easter.
After Scholz’s unpopular coalition fell apart in November, the election that was initially planned for later in the year was held seven months earlier. Three years into its tenure, his government had been tainted by internal strife, general discontent, and a lack of excitement for any of the contenders.
Germany is the most populous country in the European Union and a major NATO member, so it has a significant influence on how the continent responds to new issues, such as the trade and foreign policy of the incoming Trump administration. After the United States, the nation has been Ukraine’s second-largest supplier of munitions.
Forecasts for the German Elections and Party Results
According to preliminary estimates derived on partial vote counts and exit polls, Merz’s center-right Union bloc was expected to receive about 28.5% of the vote. The anti-immigration party, AfD, than doubled its 2021 score, rising to over 20.5%.
Scholz’s SPD only got little over 16%, which is worse than its previous postwar low of 20.5% in 2017 and a sharp drop from the last election. About 12% of the vote went to the Greens, a coalition partner in Scholz’s departing administration.
With up to 9% of the vote, the hard-left Left Party made a big comeback among the smaller parties. With only 4.5%, Scholz’s administration’s third coalition partner, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), faced the prospect of leaving parliament. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which was recently established, was just below the 5% threshold needed to obtain parliamentary seats.
Coalition Formation Challenges in the German Elections
Putting together a ruling coalition is now a challenging assignment for Merz. If BSW exceeds the 5% threshold to enter parliament, it will determine if his party can form a majority government with the SPD or if it requires a third party, most likely the Greens.
In his victory speech, Merz stated, “The most important thing is to re-establish a viable government in Germany as quickly as possible.”
“I am aware of the responsibility,” he continued, acknowledging the difficulty of the work at hand. I also understand how big of a challenge we now have ahead of us. I know it won’t be simple, but I approach it with the highest respect.
“The world out there isn’t waiting for us, and it isn’t waiting for long-drawn-out coalition talks and negotiations,” Merz said, underscoring the importance of coalition talks.
Following a fiercely contested campaign, Greens vice chancellor Robert Habeck pushed Merz to take a more moderate approach.
While celebrating historic victories, the far-right AfD lacks allies.
Leaders of the AfD celebrated their extraordinary achievement. Speaking to ecstatic fans, co-leader Tino Chrupalla said, “Today, we accomplished something historic.”
He declared, “We have moved from the periphery to the political center.” When the AfD first entered parliament in 2017, its best-ever result was 12.6%.
“Otherwise, no change of policy is possible in Germany,” said Alice Weidel, the AfD’s candidate for chancellor, indicating the party’s willingness to negotiate a coalition with Merz’s conservatives.
Merz’s Union and other mainstream parties, meanwhile, have continuously denied working with AfD. In reaction to Weidel’s comments, Merz restated this position in a televised post-election discussion.
Will Merz and AfD Form a Partnership?
“We have fundamentally different views, for example on foreign policy, on security policy, in many other areas, regarding Europe, the euro, NATO,” Merz said, dismissing any possibility of collaborating with AfD.
He said firmly, “There will be no cooperation because you want the opposite of what we want.”
Additionally, Scholz denounced the AfD’s gain in support, saying, “We must never accept that.” I never will and will not accept it.
In the election, which was open to over 59 million Germans, 630 members of the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, were chosen to serve under the glass dome of Berlin’s historic Reichstag building.
