Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its leader Friedrich Merz emerged as the big winners of German federal elections 2025 with 28% of the vote, according to preliminary official results.
“Let’s get the party started,” Merz, 69, told supporters as he declared victory at the CDU’s party headquarters in central Berlin. Merz, an old-school conservative who has never held a government role previously, is set to lead Europe’s biggest economy and most populous state, after his CDU and its sister party won 28.6% of the vote as the results were announced on February 23, 2025.
Which parties had the biggest gains and losses?
The conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz and its sister Christian Social Union (CSU) topped with 28.6% votes.
In the recent election, the biggest winner was the right-wing populist AfD, which nearly doubled its vote share. The party is now set to be the largest opposition force in parliament, having gained a 10-point increase in their result in 2021.
Olaf Scholz’s centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) party came in third with 16% of the vote — the worst score for the party since 1887. The Greens (11.6%) and The Left (8.8%) secured seats by exceeding the 5% threshold.
Far-right AfD party achieves historic result
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) became the second-largest party, with an unprecedented 20.8%, preliminary official results. The party doubled its vote share from Germany’s last election in 2021, which turned out to be the best result for a far-right party in the country since World War II.
“Thanks for 20%!” AfD’s co-leader Alice Weidel said after the first election result estimates were announced. Although the AfD candidate had hoped for a slightly higher result, as some polls had predicted, the outcome still marked a historic victory for the far-right party. In just four years, under Weidel’s leadership, the AfD doubled its vote share from 10.3% in the 2021 parliamentary elections to 20.8% on February 23.
The party is now Germany’s second-strongest political force, with support surpassing 30% in eastern states, nearing a majority in some constituencies. “They wanted to halve us, but the opposite has happened!” Weidel emphasized on Sunday evening.
Alice Weidel expressed openness to coalition talks with the CDU as she celebrated the party’s historic victory on Sunday, a proposal that CDU leader Merz swiftly dismissed.
Most German parties have ruled out a coalition with the AfD, making it likely that the CDU will seek to form a government with the Social Democrats (SPD).
What kind of coalition government could Germany have?
Friedrich Merz faces the challenge of forming a coalition government after the CDU/CSU won the largest share of votes but fell short of an absolute majority. With 208 seats in the Bundestag, they need a coalition partner to secure 316 seats, the minimum for a majority.
Merz has ruled out working with the far-right AfD, calling it a “firewall” to the extreme right. This leaves a two-way grand coalition with the SPD or a three-way coalition including the Greens as the most likely options, depending on the final seat distribution.
Who is Friedrich Merz, the man set to become Germany’s chancellor?
Friedrich Merz, chairman of Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and a lawyer by profession, is on course to become the country’s next chancellor.
Merz’s victory marks a remarkable political comeback, having rejoined the Bundestag in 2021 after a 12-year hiatus. At 69, he will be Germany’s oldest chancellor since Konrad Adenauer. Known for his commanding presence, Merz is also recognized for his humor and approachability despite occasional awkward moments when engaging with others.
“Friedrich Merz is perhaps the most international chancellor Germany has had since the war — if he becomes chancellor,” said Volker Resing, who wrote the recently published biography “Friedrich Merz: His Path to Power.” Merz “relies on personal initiative, on the freedom of the individual, on creativity and motivation. And only secondarily on the state,” Resing said.
With Europe’s security and unity in focus, Merz emphasized the urgency of action, saying, “The world out there isn’t waiting for us, and it isn’t waiting for long-drawn-out coalition talks and negotiations.” Though he has not served in government before, his return to politics has been shaped by his rivalry with Angela Merkel. He was once sidelined by Merkel after a narrow CDU loss in 2002, and though he briefly stepped away from politics, Merz later returned, becoming party leader after Merkel’s resignation in 2018.
Merz says Europe should seek ‘independence’ from US
The CDU leader Friedrich Merz says he wants Europe to seek “real independence from the US” as he begins work on forming a coalition government. “My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the US,” he added.
“I would never have believed that I would have to say something like that on television. But at the very least, after Donald Trump’s statements last week, it is clear that the Americans – at least this part of the Americans in this administration – are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe,” he said.
Merz is willing to craft a united response to recent U.S. policy shifts that have recently strained the transatlantic alliance under the Donald Trump administration. “All the signals we are getting from the USA indicate that interest in Europe is clearly waning and that the willingness to get involved in Europe is decreasing,” Merz told reporters on Monday. “Nevertheless, I hope that we can convince the Americans that it is in our mutual interest that we continue to have good trans-Atlantic relations.”