In the federal election, the SPD becomes the strongest force, the Union falls to a record low. For coalition talks it now depends on the Greens and the FDP. One thing is certain: it will be the largest Bundestag of all time. The most important results at a glance.
The SPD narrowly won the federal election. According to the preliminary result, the Social Democrats with Olaf Scholz became the strongest party on Sunday. After 16 years in government of Chancellor Angela Merkel with Armin Laschet, the CDU / CSU fell to a record low. Nevertheless, on the evening of the election, not only Scholz but also Laschet claimed the contract to form a government for himself. Both are striving for a coalition with the Greens and the FDP. They want to talk to each other first.
The most important results at a glance:
Radiant election winner SPD
According to the preliminary election result, the SPD wins with just 25.7 percent (2017: 20.5). It is thus creating a steep upswing; in early summer it was in third place in surveys with around 15 percent. SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz sees a clear mandate for his party. Many voters made it clear that they wanted a “change in government” and that the next Chancellor should be Olaf Scholz, he said. It is considered likely that the previous Vice Chancellor and Minister of Finance will seek a traffic light alliance with the Greens and the FDP, as has been ruling in Rhineland-Palatinate since 2016.
Historic bankruptcy for Union
The Union, on the other hand, is experiencing a historic debacle, it only comes to 24.1 percent (32.9). But Laschet also wants to try, despite his defeat, to agree on a coalition with the Greens and the FDP. The CDU / CSU will do everything possible to form a government under their leadership, said the CDU leader. “Germany now needs a future coalition that will modernize our country.”
For the head of the CSU, Markus Söder, the result at the end of the Merkel era is a heavy blow. After counting all constituencies, the CSU falls to its worst result since 1949 in a federal election. It only reached 31.7 percent in Bavaria (2017: 38.8), which corresponds to 5.2 percent nationwide. Nevertheless, Söder emphasized: “We firmly believe in the idea of a Jamaica alliance.”
Greens and FDP as kingmakers
Germany is now facing a difficult government formation. The only possible two-party alliance would be a new grand coalition, which neither the SPD nor the Union want. This is why there is likely to be a three-way alliance in the federal government for the first time since the 1950s. Mathematically, both a traffic light coalition (SPD, Greens and FDP) and a Jamaica alliance (Union, Greens and FDP) would be possible.
With Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock, the Greens achieve their best result in the federal government to date, but remain below expectations with 14.8 percent (8.9). Green leader Robert Habeck kept all options open to his party. You have “good chances of going strong in the next government,” he said. “We want to rule.” Baerbock said: “It’s not about the means, but about the goal, which must be achieved in the end.”
The FDP improves to 11.5 percent (10.7). In the evening, FDP leader Christian Lindner confirmed his preference for a coalition with the Union and the Greens. “The substantive proximity between the Union and the FDP is the greatest,” he said. At the same time, he emphasized that democratic parties should never rule out talks. Lindner suggested that the Liberals meet with the Greens in advance to sound out overlaps and points of contention.
AfD strong in the east
The AfD came to 10.3 percent in the federal election and remained below its 2017 result, when it received 12.6 percent of the vote. In Thuringia and Saxony, however, it became the strongest party. In both countries, the AfD is in the sights of the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, in Thuringia it is classified as “definitely extremist” and has been observed since spring.
AfD chairman Tino Chrupalla cited the reason for the success in the East that his party had addressed “the problems of the citizens” there, such as “secure pensions” and “social problems”. Chrupalla wants to apply for the chairmanship of the AfD in the Bundestag together with Alice Weidel. According to the results of the Bundestag election, it was “logical” to run for the top of the parliamentary group, he said on Monday in the ARD “Morgenmagazin” magazine.
Left under 5 percent, but still there
The left slipped to 4.9 percent (9.2) – it missed the five percent hurdle. But since she won three constituencies directly, the so-called basic mandate clause applies. This means that the left moves into the Bundestag with the full number of 39 members that it is entitled to according to the second vote result.
Left chairwoman Susanne Hennig-Wellsow attributes the bad result to past mistakes. The result was “certainly not in the last few weeks,” she said on Sunday evening in the “Berliner Runde” on ARD and ZDF. It was not because of the top candidates Janine Wissler and Dietmar Bartsch. “We have to ask some basic questions for ourselves on the left,” emphasized Bartsch.
Curiosity SSW
For the first time in around 70 years, the Südschleswigsche Voters’ Association (SSW) is returning to the Bundestag with a member. The party of the Danish minority and the national Frisians had taken part in a federal election for the first time in 60 years. As a party of the national minority, it is excluded from the five percent hurdle and only had to win so many votes that it is entitled to a seat according to the calculation process. The SSW could only be elected in Schleswig-Holstein.
Biggest Bundestag of all time
The majority in the Bundestag will change considerably. The SPD has 209 seats, the CDU 151 and the CSU 45 – the Union has a total of 196 seats. The Greens can send 118 members to the new parliament, the FDP 92 and the AfD 83. After all, 39 seats go to the Left and one to the SSW.
Overall, the Bundestag will have more members than ever before. According to the Federal Returning Officer, there are 735 MPs – this has exceeded the previous record of 709 MPs in the past legislative period. The voter turnout of 76.6 percent was at the level of the previous election (76.2).
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