Leader of the Christian Democratic Union and and likely next German chancellor Friedrich Merz on Sunday hailed “a historic election evening,” as he claimed the victory in the election.
Projected results saw the AfD win about 20% its highest ever score and doubling its share in the 2021 election.
Merz said he was aware of the responsibility and the scale of the task ahead, and acknowledged at times “very tough” election campaign, touching on issues of economic policy, migration, foreign and security policy.
But he said he was confident of being able “to create a government capable of acting in Germany’s interest” soon, as he tells party faithful that “the world out there is not waiting for us and for lengthy negotiations.”
The Social Democrats scored a historic low.SPD general secretary Matthias Miersch described the projected result, the party’s worst in a federal election, as a “historic defeat,” calling it “a very bitter evening.”
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The conservative CDU/CSU party is expected to be the largest party in the next German parliament, at about 29% of the vote, with Friedrich Merz in pole position to be Germany’s next chancellor.
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The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is expected to come second, with the record-high 20% of the vote, almost doubling its share in 2021 (10.4%).
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The ruling Social Democratic party is expected to come third at about 16%, its worst result in a federal election.
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The Greens came fourth on an estimated 13.5%
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Both the liberal FDP and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance are very close to the 5% electoral threshold.
