Home » News » German election live: Conservatives projected to win and far-right AfD in second

German election live: Conservatives projected to win and far-right AfD in second

German election live: Conservatives projected to win and far-right AfD in second
May Be Interested In:US wombat woman’s ominous threat to her Aussie mate – as her new overseas bolthole is revealed


What we know at 8pm German time

Updated exit poll figures

  • The conservative CDU/CSU is on course to win the German federal election and form a new government, with its leader Friedrich Merz insisting there is no time to waste as he signalled his intent to quickly find a coalition arrangement that would give him a stable majority.

  • The far-right Alternative für Deutschland party celebrated its highest-ever result in a federal poll, with its co-leader Alice Weidel saying she was ready to enter into talks about joining the government, despite previous declarations from CDU/CSU that they would not entertain such a scenario.

  • The Social Democratic party has been left reeling on the back of a historically low vote share, with outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz admitting it was a “bitter result”.

  • But the shape of the future government will likely be influenced by what happens to the smaller parties, with both the FDP and the BSW still too close to the 5% threshold to call it whether they will sit in the next Bundestag. Their presence – or not – would dramatically alter the parliamentary arithmetic, potentially forcing the CDU/CSU into a three-way coalition.

Share

Updated at 

Latest German opinion polls

14-day rolling average %

CDU/CSU
SPD
Grüne
FDP
AfD
Linke

Source: Guardian moving average of recent poll data from\n wahlrecht.de,\n last updated

“}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1740310774000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”12.39 CET”,”blockLastUpdated”:1740324551000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”16.29 CET”,”blockFirstPublished”:1740324112000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”16.21 CET”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”16.21″,”title”:”What is the voting system?”,”contributors”:[{“name”:”Jon Henley”,”imageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2016/09/22/Jon-Henley.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=49db88bf6fc8b042c62d52be8afd87ae”,”largeImageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2017/10/06/Jon_Henley,_L.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=cf23d4c141249ac9dd9f5c331c359f12″}],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 23 Feb 2025 21.18 CET”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sun 23 Feb 2025 12.39 CET”},{“id”:”67bb36b48f08089227381df8″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Earlier this weekend, I also spoke with Dr Raphael Bossong of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs for this blog to get his take on the election and ask him to guide us through the vote.

“,”elementId”:”80cb45f0-1cda-4a42-843d-43b201b896e2″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

You will hear from him more throughout the day, but I started by asking him why Europe should take note of the vote.

“,”elementId”:”e78beebe-2e02-40c8-8f0f-b9d45710e884″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”

\n

Well, it’s a decisive election. I mean, they always say that, but definitely this one is really important for Germany and for Europe at the same time.

\n

The tasks for the next government are bigger than ever.

\n

“,”elementId”:”363577d6-ca8f-4b7a-9d79-19e13420e026″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Watch what he had to say:

“,”elementId”:”7bb9415f-6e2b-4b4c-a90c-bd24998c8a2a”},{“expired”:false,”assetId”:”y_mRJBHCsuU”,”posterImage”:[{“url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/412d74dc0c64461e3f2802a9bbc56447e7e2fa7c/0_0_1920_1080/1000.jpg”,”width”:1000},{“url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/412d74dc0c64461e3f2802a9bbc56447e7e2fa7c/0_0_1920_1080/500.jpg”,”width”:500},{“url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/412d74dc0c64461e3f2802a9bbc56447e7e2fa7c/0_0_1920_1080/140.jpg”,”width”:140},{“url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/412d74dc0c64461e3f2802a9bbc56447e7e2fa7c/0_0_1920_1080/1920.jpg”,”width”:1920}],”id”:”55bb252d-0fd5-4308-8b67-3b07439442a1″,”elementId”:”e1fe7904-987e-461b-8c2a-1a09c587ef9a”,”duration”:62,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.YoutubeBlockElement”,”mediaTitle”:”‘It’s a decisive election’: Germans prepare to elect new chancellor – video”,”channelId”:”UCIRYBXDze5krPDzAEOxFGVA”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1740322484000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”15.54 CET”,”blockLastUpdated”:1740322800000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”16.00 CET”,”blockFirstPublished”:1740322801000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”16.00 CET”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”16.00″,”title”:”What’s at stake in this election? – expert says”,”contributors”:[{“name”:”Jakub Krupa”,”imageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2025/01/22/Jakub_Krupa.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=41cc9981ec7b067e2d3b5391c5a68a4f”,”largeImageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2025/01/22/Jakub_Krupa.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4a039a2b765744058f3c2c677268513e”}],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 23 Feb 2025 21.18 CET”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sun 23 Feb 2025 12.39 CET”},{“id”:”67bb33fb8f08089227381dd4″,”elements”:[{“displayCredit”:true,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement”,”role”:”inline”,”media”:{“allImages”:[{“index”:0,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”2020″,”width”:”3365″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/3365.jpg”},{“index”:1,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”isMaster”:”true”,”height”:”2020″,”width”:”3365″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg”},{“index”:2,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”1200″,”width”:”2000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/2000.jpg”},{“index”:3,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”600″,”width”:”1000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/1000.jpg”},{“index”:4,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”300″,”width”:”500″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/500.jpg”},{“index”:5,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”84″,”width”:”140″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/140.jpg”}]},”elementId”:”6a40201a-587d-4768-be03-2c9a9b6c11c9″,”imageSources”:[{“weighting”:”inline”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=59b6108668e7078fe2cce40abf23b27b”,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1ff3eaaeebef080bec20e711fdbdebd3″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=36442ed4c7435de1fa6af87606dbd411″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=3df2ff25bc5c99c1d89c54116179bce4″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=8cc45176fc75435ffcbe7443190559b5″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=a7c2e3188cf497235aad6a6d0b621699″,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”thumbnail”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d1a5e32c3f0c1cd06dd2b1fb8762b68a”,”width”:140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4ff5bb5a4e64abef57f2f9b27cc23a00″,”width”:280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=120&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=3253d7f7a53cad1163506e7abbcaf45a”,”width”:120},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=120&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=47a9094c772115b65595f6316a50b2ff”,”width”:240}]},{“weighting”:”supporting”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=380&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4990ba260a303ef98a153d9ab0748bf7″,”width”:380},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=380&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=470494aede83ecab6f844d1c447de22e”,”width”:760},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=e4988f9a663f958acef4e176699b6399″,”width”:300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=49b20321fcec3a697bcd03ef6e456d5e”,”width”:600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=59b6108668e7078fe2cce40abf23b27b”,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1ff3eaaeebef080bec20e711fdbdebd3″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=36442ed4c7435de1fa6af87606dbd411″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=3df2ff25bc5c99c1d89c54116179bce4″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=8cc45176fc75435ffcbe7443190559b5″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=a7c2e3188cf497235aad6a6d0b621699″,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”showcase”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=860&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=7958db13bd49e8a063bbcb0601447889″,”width”:860},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=860&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=13affc39aaed968e793f09a01e93c999″,”width”:1720},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=780&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=451365eafa0b21801394e3534f13125e”,”width”:780},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=780&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=383474f8635a9644b9d6f076ec4b196d”,”width”:1560},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=59b6108668e7078fe2cce40abf23b27b”,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1ff3eaaeebef080bec20e711fdbdebd3″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=36442ed4c7435de1fa6af87606dbd411″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=3df2ff25bc5c99c1d89c54116179bce4″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=8cc45176fc75435ffcbe7443190559b5″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=a7c2e3188cf497235aad6a6d0b621699″,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”halfwidth”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=59b6108668e7078fe2cce40abf23b27b”,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1ff3eaaeebef080bec20e711fdbdebd3″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=36442ed4c7435de1fa6af87606dbd411″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=3df2ff25bc5c99c1d89c54116179bce4″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=8cc45176fc75435ffcbe7443190559b5″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=a7c2e3188cf497235aad6a6d0b621699″,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”immersive”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=1900&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=1d0b542e350edaf54f72039253e66748″,”width”:1900},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=1900&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=650a2fa7291dd2c6c2e07df23342f6f4″,”width”:3800},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=1300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=07cecef28f72943faa93734df18e0c1b”,”width”:1300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=1300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=b3845e7044cd01ee5030fbcfe882044e”,”width”:2600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=1140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=dd28f372cb3009ec5809679a29b7d489″,”width”:1140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=1140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=6aaf4f63eea30bc0c2d006e9df53dee6″,”width”:2280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=980&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=ebf81f371d9235de2f28d398390ffb0f”,”width”:980},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=980&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=96d3ea84a71aceca1dca0d10acffb4fb”,”width”:1960},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=740&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=41dca1173c44e02872bbe81e5b523929″,”width”:740},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=740&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=fdd3477f6b84d6654db9601ce3b2a05f”,”width”:1480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=660&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=f4435bfc0eb06ed8939ec7e926d6de1a”,”width”:660},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=660&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=899e1d1688f9b55c860292f05c6d9ee5″,”width”:1320},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=480&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=3d62c00125725fe20ff194c751ea9073″,”width”:480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c546b398379555d68e6d0eed8a21440ef53f9021/0_28_3365_2020/master/3365.jpg?width=480&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=7b68b290c1396d3814e13be0832e69ac”,”width”:960}]}],”data”:{“alt”:”A vote casts her vote at a polling station in Berlin.”,”caption”:”A vote casts her vote at a polling station in Berlin.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Philipp-Moritz Jenne/AP”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Voter turnout at the ballot box by 2pm was at 52%, up from 36.5% at the same time in 2021 (+15.5pp, but take note that the 2021 election took place during the Covid-19 pandemic, so some voters opted for postal vote instead), German federal electoral authorities have just confirmed.

“,”elementId”:”86ef4253-ed35-4e30-b7f7-e0bd73022a31″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Looking at the state-by-state breakdown from earlier in the day, reported by Welt, it seems like there was a particularly high turnout in the state of Thuringia (44.5% at midday, up from 24.6% in 2021), which is an AfD stronghold and where the far-right party won the state elections in September last year.

“,”elementId”:”8441fdbe-9cdc-4bfa-9a23-2219b9f47a83″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Berlin also reported a higher turnout at noon with 33%, up from 25.4% in 2021.

“,”elementId”:”eaa849ea-57de-44ff-8de6-5054f3dd202a”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement”,”prefix”:”Related: “,”text”:”Scholz urges German parties to exclude far right as AfD poised for state election victory”,”elementId”:”af60f90c-d90c-4939-96d9-dd4959cca153″,”role”:”thumbnail”,”url”:”https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/sep/01/german-far-right-party-afd-state-election-victory-thuringia”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1740321787000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”15.43 CET”,”blockLastUpdated”:1740322973000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”16.02 CET”,”blockFirstPublished”:1740322435000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”15.53 CET”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”15.53″,”title”:”High turnout reported by 2pm”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 23 Feb 2025 21.18 CET”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sun 23 Feb 2025 12.39 CET”},{“id”:”67bb2e6d8f0835381101aa9c”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Opinion is divided as Germany faces what some describe as the “most important election in their lifetime”. The country is expected to shift to the right as Friedrich Merz is in pole position to become Germany’s next chancellor, while far-right party AfD could become the second most powerful party.

“,”elementId”:”731838c4-6d28-43f3-b140-fb9fb0bc07bf”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

So earlier today I asked voters at a polling station in central Berlin what they expected from the election and what they wanted the next chancellor to focus on.

“,”elementId”:”3a10ffbe-012d-4ce1-b221-0abfc0c9928f”},{“expired”:false,”assetId”:”ybKbEARpmj8″,”posterImage”:[{“url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/c21c0e91c523b1141b5e1c4af27e58b5ec054b22/329_161_1270_714/1000.jpg”,”width”:1000},{“url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/c21c0e91c523b1141b5e1c4af27e58b5ec054b22/329_161_1270_714/500.jpg”,”width”:500},{“url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/c21c0e91c523b1141b5e1c4af27e58b5ec054b22/329_161_1270_714/140.jpg”,”width”:140},{“url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/c21c0e91c523b1141b5e1c4af27e58b5ec054b22/329_161_1270_714/1270.jpg”,”width”:1270}],”id”:”d0ed70fc-9d24-4b09-b004-7c4d0472c096″,”elementId”:”14e76046-b6ff-400d-9892-b3449efc77d4″,”duration”:101,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.YoutubeBlockElement”,”mediaTitle”:”‘Exciting and a bit scary’: German voters react ahead of election – video”,”channelId”:”UCIRYBXDze5krPDzAEOxFGVA”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1740320365000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”15.19 CET”,”blockLastUpdated”:1740321702000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”15.41 CET”,”blockFirstPublished”:1740321702000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”15.41 CET”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”15.41″,”title”:”‘Exciting and a bit scary’: German voters react ahead of election – video”,”contributors”:[{“name”:”Jakub Krupa”,”imageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2025/01/22/Jakub_Krupa.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=41cc9981ec7b067e2d3b5391c5a68a4f”,”largeImageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2025/01/22/Jakub_Krupa.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4a039a2b765744058f3c2c677268513e”}],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 23 Feb 2025 21.18 CET”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sun 23 Feb 2025 12.39 CET”},{“id”:”67bac20d8f086d3992205245″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Europe correspondent

“,”elementId”:”602ab822-cc0e-44e1-bfda-d16fccee7920″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.InteractiveAtomBlockElement”,”css”:”@charset \”UTF-8\”;@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:300;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:300;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:400;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:400;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:500;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:500;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:600;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:600;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:700;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:900;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:900;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Titlepiece;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}div#maincontent:focus{box-shadow:none!important}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive{margin-left:160px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content__main-column–interactive{margin-left:240px}}.content__main-column–interactive:before{position:absolute;top:0;height:calc(100% + 15px);min-height:100px;content:\”\”}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive:before{border-left:1px solid #dcdcdc;z-index:-1;left:-10px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content__main-column–interactive:before{border-left:1px solid #dcdcdc;left:-11px}}.content__main-column–interactive .element-inline,.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom{max-width:620px}@media (max-width: 46.24em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom{max-width:100%}}.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase{margin-left:0}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase{max-width:620px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase{max-width:860px}}.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{max-width:1100px}@media (max-width: 46.24em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{width:100vw;position:relative;left:50%;right:50%;margin-left:-50vw!important;margin-right:-50vw!important}}@media (min-width: 46.25em) and (max-width: 71.24em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{margin-left:-20px;width:calc(100% + 60px)}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{max-width:1260px}}.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom{margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-bottom:12px;padding-top:12px}.content__main-column–interactive p{color:#121212;max-width:620px}p+.element-atom{padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:12px}body{–primary-text-color: #121212;–secondary-text-color: #707070;–tertiary-text-color: #707070;–primary-bg-color: #ffffff;–secondary-bg-color: #f3f3f3;–tertiary-bg-color: #f6f6f6;–primary-line-color: #333333;–secondary-line-color: #dcdcdc;–border-divider-color: #dcdcdc;–axis-color: #bababa;–primary-button-color: #121212;–primary-button-text-color: #ffffff;–primary-button-highlight-color: #333333;–highlight-color: #ffe500;–highlighted-text-color: #121212;–info-color: #00b2ff;–news-grey-01: #121212;–news-grey-02: #707070;–news-grey-03: #a1a1a1;–news-grey-04: #bababa;–news-grey-05: #dcdcdc;–news-grey-06: #f3f3f3;–news-core-01: #005689;–news-core-02: #0094da;–news-core-03: #c70000;–news-core-04: #23b4a9;–news-core-05: #494949;–news-core-06: #cca36e}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){body.ios,body.android{–primary-text-color: #dcdcdc;–secondary-text-color: #c8c8c8;–tertiary-text-color: #999999;–primary-bg-color: #1a1a1a;–secondary-bg-color: #383838;–tertiary-bg-color: #121212;–primary-line-color: #dcdcdc;–secondary-line-color: #707070;–border-divider-color: #606060;–axis-color: var(–news-grey-04);–primary-button-color: #383838;–primary-button-text-color: #dcdcdc;–primary-button-highlight-color: #707070;–highlight-color: #cda500;–highlighted-text-color: #121212;–info-color: #0077b6;–news-grey-01: #dcdcdc;–news-grey-02: #c8c8c8;–news-grey-03: #a1a1a1;–news-grey-04: #707070;–news-grey-05: #494949;–news-grey-06: #383838;–news-core-01: #0077b6;–news-core-02: #00b2ff;–news-core-03: #e33824;–news-core-04: #23b4a9;–news-core-05: #494949;–news-core-06: #cca36e}}h2{font-size:16px;line-height:20px;font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Egyptian Web,Guardian Headline Full,Georgia,serif;font-weight:400;font-size:18px;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:12px}.interactive-atom{margin:0;padding:0}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:300;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:300;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:400;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:400;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:500;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:500;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:600;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:600;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:700;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:900;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:900;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Titlepiece;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2) format(\”woff2\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff) format(\”woff\”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.ttf) format(\”truetype\”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}.interactive-wrapper.svelte-9mnz0u{background-color:#fff;padding-top:20px}.gv-chart-wrapper.svelte-9mnz0u{background:#fff;position:relative;z-index:1;padding-top:10px;border-top:1px solid #dcdcdc;border-bottom:1px solid #dcdcdc}.gv-blob{display:inline-block;height:.8em;width:.5em;border-radius:15%}.gv-big-blob{transform:translateY(3px)}.gv-blob{margin-right:4px}.gv-tt{padding:4px 8px 8px;position:absolute;z-index:2;width:164px;box-sizing:border-box;pointer-events:none;opacity:0;top:10px;background-color:#ffffffe6;border:1px solid #333;color:#121212;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:Guardian Text Sans Web,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif}.gv-tt table{width:100%}.gv-tt .gv-tt__date{font-size:16px;line-height:20px;font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Egyptian Web,Guardian Headline Full,Georgia,serif;font-weight:400;font-weight:700;font-size:18px}.gv-tt .gv-tt__subhead{color:#999;margin-bottom:4px;margin-top:2px}.gv-tt .gv-tt__avg{text-align:right}.gv-line{fill:none;stroke:#000;stroke-width:2px}.gv-circle{fill-opacity:.2;stroke-width:.4;stroke-opacity:.4}.gv-axes path{stroke:none}.gv-axes line{stroke:#333}.gv-axes text{font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:Guardian Text Sans Web,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif;transform:translateY(2px);fill:#333}.gv-hoverline{stroke:#333;stroke-width:3px}.gv-endline{stroke:#333;stroke-dasharray:2}.gv-yaxis{stroke:#dcdcdc;stroke-dasharray:2}.gv-yaxis__text{font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:Guardian Text Sans Web,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif;fill:#333}.gv-chart-svg{cursor:pointer}.gv-hide{display:none}.gv-caption{font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:Guardian Text Sans Web,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif;color:#999;padding-bottom:2px;padding-top:4px}@media (max-width: 71.24em){.gv-caption{padding-left:10px}}.gv-threshold{font-size:12px;fill:#999;background-color:#fff;z-index:300}[data-party=SPD]{fill:#c70000;background:#c70000}[data-party=\”CDU/CSU\”]{fill:#333;background:#333}[data-party=FDP]{fill:#f5be2c;background:#f5be2c}[data-party=BSW]{fill:#bd5318;background:#bd5318}[data-party=GRÜNE]{fill:#3db540;background:#3db540}[data-party=AfD]{fill:#005689;background:#005689}[data-party=LINKE]{fill:#951d7a;background:#951d7a}[data-party-line=SPD]{stroke:#c70000}[data-party-line=\”CDU/CSU\”]{stroke:#333}[data-party-line=FDP]{stroke:#f5be2c}[data-party-line=LINKE]{stroke:#951d7a}[data-party-line=GRÜNE]{stroke:#3db540}[data-party-line=AfD]{stroke:#005689}[data-party-line=BSW]{stroke:#bd5318}\n”,”url”:”https://api.nextgen.guardianapps.co.uk/embed/atom/interactive/interactives%2F2024%2F11%2Fgerman-opinion-polls%2Fdefault”,”id”:”interactives/2024/11/german-opinion-polls/default”,”elementId”:”f54af5fa-a46f-45e3-b56e-8a2bfc1ad97d”,”js”:”\n var el = document.createElement(‘script’);\n el.src=”https://interactive.guim.co.uk/atoms/2024/11/german-opinion-polls/default/v/1737541389639/app.js”;\n document.body.appendChild(el);\n “,”title”:”Svelte atom template”,”html”:”

Latest German opinion polls

14-day rolling average %

CDU/CSU
SPD
Grüne
FDP
AfD
Linke

Source: Guardian moving average of recent poll data from\n wahlrecht.de,\n last updated

“},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

There seems little doubt that, barring any major surprises, the conservative Merz will be Germany’s next chancellor. The CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), have been consistently and comfortably ahead in the polls on about 30%, with the Alternative für Deutschland second on 20-21%.

“,”elementId”:”453d10b0-386d-4f8a-b06c-807c2dc21eaf”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

There is no apparent route to power for the far-right AfD since all other parties have ruled out working with a party they consider undemocratic.

“,”elementId”:”2a6266ab-df8c-4936-aaa4-9beb9d1663ee”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

According to the Guardian’s poll tracker, the SPD are third on about 15% and the Greens fourth on 13%. The leftwing Die Linke are predicted to clear the 5% hurdle and expected to secure around 7-8% but it looks far from certain that the “conservative-left” Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) or liberal FDP will do the same.

“,”elementId”:”e5219ec8-6f43-4e05-90cf-579f7100a29b”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Depending on whether that trio (plus the local associations of Free Voters (FW), who could do well in Bavaria) score 5% or more, or qualify via the three-seat exception, the next assembly could have four parties or eight, the most in modern history.

“,”elementId”:”4f3c059f-a6cb-4f18-a11e-6b6f4c5503be”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

That makes the distribution of seats in the new parliament very hard to predict. However, most analysts see the most likely outcome being a CDU-led coalition government including either Scholz’s Social Democrats or the Greens, or maybe both.

“,”elementId”:”49d49b6b-2492-4d28-83ef-90b0aee58386″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1740310774000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”12.39 CET”,”blockLastUpdated”:1740317435000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”14.30 CET”,”blockFirstPublished”:1740317435000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”14.30 CET”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”14.30″,”title”:”What do the polls say?”,”contributors”:[{“name”:”Jon Henley”,”imageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2016/09/22/Jon-Henley.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=49db88bf6fc8b042c62d52be8afd87ae”,”largeImageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2017/10/06/Jon_Henley,_L.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=cf23d4c141249ac9dd9f5c331c359f12″}],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 23 Feb 2025 21.18 CET”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sun 23 Feb 2025 12.39 CET”},{“id”:”67babdb98f0835381101a89c”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Europe correspondent

“,”elementId”:”1dc68fc2-0662-47a4-a87e-4b27d380e273″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CDU/CSU) frontrunners, led by wealthy former asset manager Friedrich Merz, are proposing to cut taxes, tighten welfare eligibility, slash immigration, process asylum claims abroad, and boost aid to Ukraine.

“,”elementId”:”f4e4658a-b31b-496b-82b8-ae733b239faa”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has endorsed the concept of “re-migration”, threatening the mass deportation of migrants. It also pledges a return to the deutschmark, military conscription, and sweeping education reforms.

“,”elementId”:”50dcab02-49ac-4b25-a01c-a224a0b641fd”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Scholz’s Social Democratic party (SPD) aims to support low-income families by cutting VAT on food and tax for low earners and raising the minimum wage. It also aims to curb immigration and proposes a €100bn infrastructure investment fund, but is more cautious on Ukraine. Scholz has refused to send long-range Taurus missiles to Kyiv, defending the decision as a “prudent” anti-escalation measure.

“,”elementId”:”6f95d9ff-4165-4b01-a9b4-16287f7c9a23″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The Greens have announced plans for a “billionaire tax” to help poorer households through the green transition. They are also in favour of increasing the minimum wage and are pushing for incentives to speed up the switch to renewable energy.

“,”elementId”:”0a78bfe5-c381-42c0-b950-dd93e1834931″},{“displayCredit”:true,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement”,”role”:”inline”,”media”:{“allImages”:[{“index”:0,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”1759″,”width”:”2933″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/2933.jpg”},{“index”:1,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”isMaster”:”true”,”height”:”1759″,”width”:”2933″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg”},{“index”:2,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”1200″,”width”:”2000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/2000.jpg”},{“index”:3,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”600″,”width”:”1000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/1000.jpg”},{“index”:4,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”300″,”width”:”500″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/500.jpg”},{“index”:5,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”84″,”width”:”140″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/140.jpg”}]},”elementId”:”4034e603-b3d7-4b77-a9fc-046a6589a606″,”imageSources”:[{“weighting”:”inline”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=de046e25c61deabab1a260ecdcf6418f”,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=e7e0f28aa8a6227c65850241b3b20649″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=763ca5526330e259e3d51b5cb8ebb98f”,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=39e1ae25d88750c6689dab745ebf761a”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=9266d62b3c06ffbf5f6199033eb9e5ad”,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8454f93ccca1b7215f0c6d3017d5326d”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”thumbnail”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c24a9ca9f90cdce2c57f4e9a7474bbd9″,”width”:140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=b2131b314bcc8224953df3ce49668c48″,”width”:280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=120&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=b91ce784822a3113a6d13ff327e1ed02″,”width”:120},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=120&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=0158b457a99c187466226437f64a4741″,”width”:240}]},{“weighting”:”supporting”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=380&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=88e36c572f3a9cb045559ce7374de6ba”,”width”:380},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=380&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=f3b5562960d1ebd18235ed15b1e10d42″,”width”:760},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=aa6f35427fb6ca774fdac2a1e657a55e”,”width”:300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=558df52d264f8daa8a8f4848be7a246f”,”width”:600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=de046e25c61deabab1a260ecdcf6418f”,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=e7e0f28aa8a6227c65850241b3b20649″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=763ca5526330e259e3d51b5cb8ebb98f”,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=39e1ae25d88750c6689dab745ebf761a”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=9266d62b3c06ffbf5f6199033eb9e5ad”,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8454f93ccca1b7215f0c6d3017d5326d”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”showcase”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=860&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=3fd0a5b6011bca2a19a52acfc6668add”,”width”:860},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=860&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=50892c011724d53255476a7e5a38856b”,”width”:1720},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=780&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=efd6624b11aecd909852a154374ad20f”,”width”:780},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=780&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=cefabc6daa559593adc7fb4085b95afc”,”width”:1560},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=de046e25c61deabab1a260ecdcf6418f”,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=e7e0f28aa8a6227c65850241b3b20649″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=763ca5526330e259e3d51b5cb8ebb98f”,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=39e1ae25d88750c6689dab745ebf761a”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=9266d62b3c06ffbf5f6199033eb9e5ad”,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8454f93ccca1b7215f0c6d3017d5326d”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”halfwidth”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=de046e25c61deabab1a260ecdcf6418f”,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=e7e0f28aa8a6227c65850241b3b20649″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=763ca5526330e259e3d51b5cb8ebb98f”,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=39e1ae25d88750c6689dab745ebf761a”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=9266d62b3c06ffbf5f6199033eb9e5ad”,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8454f93ccca1b7215f0c6d3017d5326d”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”immersive”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=1900&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=b3a5a5e6a2ecb697330a16373a515a00″,”width”:1900},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=1900&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4fc45497ee7408fd5792ec8360e83131″,”width”:3800},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=1300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=f81384e15a6db67b7fc138c1271a61ac”,”width”:1300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=1300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=2d3dfd5410298049e520d8fe46e9faef”,”width”:2600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=1140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=72784d614d5b4d2c7ecd73a3cefab2b8″,”width”:1140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=1140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c5a1360e31ec57aea74d8ebb96ef2439″,”width”:2280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=980&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d36b108571e2c6ce2ccc149d1435c104″,”width”:980},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=980&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4a76dd9bc2a9e475fd195819e5b3c3b8″,”width”:1960},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=740&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=790ddb9f8993e7b74681bb0b96a5f6b4″,”width”:740},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=740&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1e2d25f1d492a1f543105b5e43acef05″,”width”:1480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=660&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=aaf1d44367c069b12c5f5efb7d87974e”,”width”:660},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=660&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=b2da01fb577138da3f7413cb10b0b8ae”,”width”:1320},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=480&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d5516359f6afa230f7a62686c54f5a59″,”width”:480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29ba57c299b96d26a1a5573e89f682be35f1352b/0_101_2933_1759/master/2933.jpg?width=480&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=d4e79f99e7b8b0214bf3e36df5828666″,”width”:960}]}],”data”:{“alt”:”Election posters, showing German chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and CDU top candidate Friedrich Merz, stand on a meadow in Nieder-Erlenbach near Frankfurt.”,”caption”:”Election posters, showing German chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and CDU top candidate Friedrich Merz, stand on a meadow in Nieder-Erlenbach near Frankfurt.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Michael Probst/AP”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1740310774000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”12.39 CET”,”blockLastUpdated”:1740314884000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”13.48 CET”,”blockFirstPublished”:1740314884000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”13.48 CET”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”13.48″,”title”:”Who are the key players and what have they promised?”,”contributors”:[{“name”:”Jon Henley”,”imageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2016/09/22/Jon-Henley.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=49db88bf6fc8b042c62d52be8afd87ae”,”largeImageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2017/10/06/Jon_Henley,_L.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=cf23d4c141249ac9dd9f5c331c359f12″}],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 23 Feb 2025 21.18 CET”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sun 23 Feb 2025 12.39 CET”},{“id”:”67babb568f08089227381baf”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Europe correspondent

“,”elementId”:”3a565567-4562-451c-99a3-6c5e8ddc852e”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The three-way “traffic-light” coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens ruling Germany since 2021 collapsed in November under the weight of its own ideological contradictions and the country’s economic and security challenges.

“,”elementId”:”3ab3acdd-9e1b-4ed5-ad84-850b8e69e938″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The outgoing Social Democrat chancellor, Olaf Scholz, fired his liberal finance minister, Christian Lindner, over a bitter months-long budget dispute, then called a confidence vote in parliament deliberately in order to lose it – which he duly did.

“,”elementId”:”67743a4f-6863-4cb1-9878-dd159d29fd92″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Whoever becomes chancellor will have to tackle an economy beset by high energy and labour costs, stifling bureaucracy, crumbling infrastructure and an economy that has shrunk for two consecutive years for the first time in decades.

“,”elementId”:”ca120e65-8328-4333-b17a-a0822d719aea”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The slowdown with trade partner China has dealt a blow to German exports, a traditional strength, while the key car industry has been slow to develop attractive electric vehicles (EVs) and now faces the threat of US tariffs under Donald Trump.

“,”elementId”:”6e0a15fc-9b1d-47fc-9263-0406c971da07″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Optimists say the vote could give Germany a vital shot at investment, modernisation and renewal. Pessimists say the problems are so structural and expectations so high that the middle-of-the-road coalition that will probably emerge is doomed to disappoint.

“,”elementId”:”b6e4d8c3-9635-4939-8bb5-80d4e14b4644″},{“displayCredit”:true,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement”,”role”:”inline”,”media”:{“allImages”:[{“index”:0,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”2236″,”width”:”3725″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/3725.jpg”},{“index”:1,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”isMaster”:”true”,”height”:”2236″,”width”:”3725″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg”},{“index”:2,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”1200″,”width”:”2000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/2000.jpg”},{“index”:3,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”600″,”width”:”1000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/1000.jpg”},{“index”:4,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”300″,”width”:”500″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/500.jpg”},{“index”:5,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”84″,”width”:”140″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/140.jpg”}]},”elementId”:”49907a76-969d-4295-bf89-dcc215b49071″,”imageSources”:[{“weighting”:”inline”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=06566f4988e76a371301867881f93993″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=5e099b0c6d1b62f02e0a79b38124f480″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=74bb05ee68a5f0e54ddf70b5b97f5284″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c93680a47f24fe33333f85bc84b63c3a”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=1a3dd0f2d52e5c753bb4b08102c8a316″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=cd32cbab391d038f1c589cda6bab4b64″,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”thumbnail”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=76abc1fe594080888490f499302fb34e”,”width”:140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=6b7ad0921cd13052a17a583f3cdc9e19″,”width”:280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=120&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=40a5b2a1b808869bdf51f3c88ad7d2ea”,”width”:120},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=120&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=ce304f5ff42565ed494ea79d7119b19b”,”width”:240}]},{“weighting”:”supporting”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=380&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=e68115221c69dc8908e9afceb4185879″,”width”:380},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=380&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=3d169f7ecb0f2b6d133b55d05b935b83″,”width”:760},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=7bd286a74d0549701aa6702928645f5c”,”width”:300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4f739b63dc5253f1010d5d800d49861b”,”width”:600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=06566f4988e76a371301867881f93993″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=5e099b0c6d1b62f02e0a79b38124f480″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=74bb05ee68a5f0e54ddf70b5b97f5284″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c93680a47f24fe33333f85bc84b63c3a”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=1a3dd0f2d52e5c753bb4b08102c8a316″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=cd32cbab391d038f1c589cda6bab4b64″,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”showcase”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=860&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4fc05a27ab4e7b1e71f53cacc73125df”,”width”:860},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=860&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=d34d0c76713bf416d7d7da1d27a13499″,”width”:1720},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=780&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0e39204f6c4f58ebdbc7f201f39b4e41″,”width”:780},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=780&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=bab370187b9635ecd48bfbdc1181f5d6″,”width”:1560},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=06566f4988e76a371301867881f93993″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=5e099b0c6d1b62f02e0a79b38124f480″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=74bb05ee68a5f0e54ddf70b5b97f5284″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c93680a47f24fe33333f85bc84b63c3a”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=1a3dd0f2d52e5c753bb4b08102c8a316″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=cd32cbab391d038f1c589cda6bab4b64″,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”halfwidth”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=06566f4988e76a371301867881f93993″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=5e099b0c6d1b62f02e0a79b38124f480″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=74bb05ee68a5f0e54ddf70b5b97f5284″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c93680a47f24fe33333f85bc84b63c3a”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=1a3dd0f2d52e5c753bb4b08102c8a316″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=cd32cbab391d038f1c589cda6bab4b64″,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”immersive”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=1900&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=ce167e0b19865022dc6e3dfc160b89de”,”width”:1900},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=1900&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=f79e8e465b467117103ffed390b89532″,”width”:3800},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=1300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=e663626bd19533765246bd8fdcc9e9d8″,”width”:1300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=1300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=af46add5f34a9bcdf27adeb633552475″,”width”:2600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=1140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=2d3e1e3b79ce42267b30c763cc718c5d”,”width”:1140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=1140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=e06ed87b1225040537b64bf521c754fe”,”width”:2280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=980&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=9908839585ffeaf76e0a26fccfac43d8″,”width”:980},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=980&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=a6e9c3bafee50aabcee0aefe31f6fda6″,”width”:1960},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=740&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0ecc1d50a4152e41a0752682fdb561e3″,”width”:740},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=740&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8aaf03411205abd92d01abc0807ab9a7″,”width”:1480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=660&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=1cdacd68437c2c9a243edb2ef089961e”,”width”:660},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=660&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=e5343552a9a074485de9356d4aa901a9″,”width”:1320},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=480&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=70e53bcd025901cadc71fccf6e356ce7″,”width”:480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2221278eaf10139d8a3cafc02b9def6a64937620/0_123_3725_2236/master/3725.jpg?width=480&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=3718b8768ceb00896fa7ac385f4f7c90″,”width”:960}]}],”data”:{“alt”:”German chancellor Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic party (SPD) looks up from the stage at a citizens’ dialogue in Brandenburg, one day ahead of the national election.”,”caption”:”German chancellor Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic party (SPD) looks up from the stage at a citizens’ dialogue in Brandenburg, one day ahead of the national election.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Carsten Koall/AP”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1740310774000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”12.39 CET”,”blockLastUpdated”:1740312506000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”13.08 CET”,”blockFirstPublished”:1740312506000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”13.08 CET”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”13.08″,”title”:”Why does the German election matter?”,”contributors”:[{“name”:”Jon Henley”,”imageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2016/09/22/Jon-Henley.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=49db88bf6fc8b042c62d52be8afd87ae”,”largeImageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2017/10/06/Jon_Henley,_L.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=cf23d4c141249ac9dd9f5c331c359f12″}],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 23 Feb 2025 21.18 CET”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sun 23 Feb 2025 12.39 CET”},{“id”:”67bab6bf8f086d399220521d”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Guten Tag, and good day from Berlin.

“,”elementId”:”a6d90428-7c0b-41fb-9717-b712afee3c4c”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Sixty million Germans choose their next government today, which will lead Europe’s largest economy through what will most likely be the most tumultuous era in decades.

“,”elementId”:”b060e325-dd62-439e-bbc0-23e8491e17a3″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Voters have to choose who will be given the task of steering Germany through an existential security crisis in Europe with Ukraine and Russia, while at the same time facing unprecedented structural challenges to the country’s economic model amid a worsening geopolitical outlook abroad, most obviously characterised by a crumbling transatlantic alliance with the new US administration of Donald Trump.

“,”elementId”:”ce31f8d3-50d6-4d1d-86ea-534fb60bbb69″},{“displayCredit”:true,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement”,”role”:”inline”,”media”:{“allImages”:[{“index”:0,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”2631″,”width”:”4384″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/4384.jpg”},{“index”:1,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”isMaster”:”true”,”height”:”2631″,”width”:”4384″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg”},{“index”:2,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”1200″,”width”:”2000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/2000.jpg”},{“index”:3,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”600″,”width”:”1000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/1000.jpg”},{“index”:4,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”300″,”width”:”500″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/500.jpg”},{“index”:5,”fields”:{“aspectRatio”:”5:3″,”height”:”84″,”width”:”140″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/140.jpg”}]},”elementId”:”d4f37ba4-0401-47e7-8857-9e4241d77e0d”,”imageSources”:[{“weighting”:”inline”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=8cbc78f9069cfcc32c8cf52f2b5b0c02″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=90cfc4b14d364e8d88ae094cda3985c8″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c7e7c35cf334ab6ab523bcf5c1bf4d61″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=51560b7b1c7ef22bab460fb4c3f7a2f1″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d6705aabf406e4d05db8a136d6f3b9bc”,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8448ca7accf6eb440548b843c60f5835″,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”thumbnail”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=9cbdb91d603903d3e94250dfcb1397ba”,”width”:140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=f31651018413bb6725fe20a56016b978″,”width”:280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=120&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=813cda0a2e2d48f13bd691d16065636c”,”width”:120},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=120&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=ed53fa7ad94db1bdcca51f913e8527c5″,”width”:240}]},{“weighting”:”supporting”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=380&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=faba00fab03aa809c6e4b4add4d8f887″,”width”:380},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=380&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=37d0246fc7c36219781cdb264f0452bf”,”width”:760},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=e3c031ba5b5ef08aef554e8588f85826″,”width”:300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=3e64848407f5fd84270aa9372e171456″,”width”:600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=8cbc78f9069cfcc32c8cf52f2b5b0c02″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=90cfc4b14d364e8d88ae094cda3985c8″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c7e7c35cf334ab6ab523bcf5c1bf4d61″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=51560b7b1c7ef22bab460fb4c3f7a2f1″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d6705aabf406e4d05db8a136d6f3b9bc”,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8448ca7accf6eb440548b843c60f5835″,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”showcase”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=860&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=2331d3cedc408eb42269228ef29d0553″,”width”:860},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=860&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=db63a8821e158dd85b82fe64b6b70076″,”width”:1720},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=780&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=e1159aa3594110959b93a89ccc4af3fe”,”width”:780},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=780&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=f547c33b7350cf47ad1fe8e241094cf1″,”width”:1560},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=8cbc78f9069cfcc32c8cf52f2b5b0c02″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=90cfc4b14d364e8d88ae094cda3985c8″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c7e7c35cf334ab6ab523bcf5c1bf4d61″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=51560b7b1c7ef22bab460fb4c3f7a2f1″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d6705aabf406e4d05db8a136d6f3b9bc”,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8448ca7accf6eb440548b843c60f5835″,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”halfwidth”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=8cbc78f9069cfcc32c8cf52f2b5b0c02″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=90cfc4b14d364e8d88ae094cda3985c8″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c7e7c35cf334ab6ab523bcf5c1bf4d61″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=51560b7b1c7ef22bab460fb4c3f7a2f1″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d6705aabf406e4d05db8a136d6f3b9bc”,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8448ca7accf6eb440548b843c60f5835″,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”immersive”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=1900&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=8c9f62e55aa53eb7d0e28b543f269b7a”,”width”:1900},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=1900&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=54f25c3a36156af69bdf8fde41979d2e”,”width”:3800},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=1300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=12869c5e875a2cb41f7e6fa1891c0c2f”,”width”:1300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=1300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=d1cbd931fdd1966e02446b953dbd527f”,”width”:2600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=1140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=9881523aafa2b94f512bf56cd143ca16″,”width”:1140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=1140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=59b8e096d278861b928ba2fe822d9ab5″,”width”:2280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=980&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=74774275ee80b7d792822509d6d51ec4″,”width”:980},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=980&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=cabb007f22e052d4598e45407a8eba8e”,”width”:1960},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=740&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=63f76f2f8aa298c42cea32529145a578″,”width”:740},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=740&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=5e3ed42873e0eedd340e389e1369197a”,”width”:1480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=660&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=31eb359bd9e0bbebcb793ee6b8fec8b3″,”width”:660},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=660&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=57f9c5337b47bc6f1063072007263ef1″,”width”:1320},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=480&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=18b45b975bf048547bf8d20721d830f8″,”width”:480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5918309d19de3b04de3926090f2a45385fe96a2b/0_146_4384_2631/master/4384.jpg?width=480&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=aa79473981dad867b9375519ffffbd6f”,”width”:960}]}],”data”:{“alt”:”A man makes soap bubbles in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.”,”caption”:”A man makes soap bubbles in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Michael Probst/AP”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The conservative opposition chief Friedrich Merz is widely expected to score a win and get the job. But other than that, there are more questions than answers. Who will he govern with? How many parties will get into the Bundestag? Will the far-right once again see record rises in their support, and if so, what will this mean for German politics?

“,”elementId”:”5d5446d4-16ec-473c-8cab-44f03812c05b”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The polling stations have been open since 8am local time (7am GMT) and will close at 6pm local time (5pm GMT) when we should get an exit poll and a first indication of what awaits Germany next.

“,”elementId”:”39d6242d-54af-40f5-8dc0-272677b9d045″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

We will bring you all the key updates throughout the day, helping you to understand the context of the vote, summarising the main themes of the campaign, and bringing first-hand reports from on the ground in Berlin.

“,”elementId”:”ab0826d4-7ed7-47f9-93e0-a177edd44254″},{“expired”:false,”assetId”:”HSrg6_CCtH8″,”posterImage”:[{“url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/15dc9d7490f81e9926bab756a9bfb5e208fd600c/0_0_1920_1080/1000.jpg”,”width”:1000},{“url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/15dc9d7490f81e9926bab756a9bfb5e208fd600c/0_0_1920_1080/500.jpg”,”width”:500},{“url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/15dc9d7490f81e9926bab756a9bfb5e208fd600c/0_0_1920_1080/140.jpg”,”width”:140},{“url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/15dc9d7490f81e9926bab756a9bfb5e208fd600c/0_0_1920_1080/1920.jpg”,”width”:1920}],”id”:”0ffc1362-1d23-438a-a9d3-12dc825acddd”,”elementId”:”bd0c98b8-b407-4970-8eed-f371c03c72db”,”duration”:33,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.YoutubeBlockElement”,”mediaTitle”:”The Guardian’s Jakub Krupa previews our German election coverage from Berlin – video”,”channelId”:”UCIRYBXDze5krPDzAEOxFGVA”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1740310774000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”12.39 CET”,”blockLastUpdated”:1740310762000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”12.39 CET”,”blockFirstPublished”:1740310774000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”12.39 CET”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”12.39″,”title”:”Opening: Germany votes”,”contributors”:[{“name”:”Jakub Krupa”,”imageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2025/01/22/Jakub_Krupa.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=41cc9981ec7b067e2d3b5391c5a68a4f”,”largeImageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2025/01/22/Jakub_Krupa.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4a039a2b765744058f3c2c677268513e”}],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 23 Feb 2025 21.18 CET”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Sun 23 Feb 2025 12.39 CET”}],”filterKeyEvents”:false,”id”:”key-events-carousel-mobile”,”absoluteServerTimes”:false,”renderingTarget”:”Web”}”>

Key events

Lindner hints at resignation if FDP is out of parliament

Kate Connolly

Berlin correspondent

Germany’s liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) and his party’s top candidate Christian Lindner takes part in an election night TV talkshow hosted by public broadcaster ARD. Photograph: Stefanie Loos/AFP/Getty Images

Christian Lindner, head of the pro business FDP, which triggered the snap elections after meticulously planning the demise of the coalition, has just announced during the so-called elephant round of all the party leaders on television that if his party, as looks the case right now, fails to get over the 5% hurdle needed to get into parliament, that he will resign.

Lindner, 46, who was finance minister in the fractious Scholz government, is the FDP’s longest-serving leader, having taken on the job in 2017. His wife is expecting their first child this spring.

Share

One to watch: Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance

While the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) is still below 5% on the ARD poll we are leading with, it is now above the threshold in the other poll, by ZDF.

If confirmed, that would substantially complicate the government forming process, potentially forcing CDU/CSU into a three-way coalition with the SPD and the Greens.

A CDU/CSU-SPD coalition would have 309 seats, seven short of the 316 required, so they would need the “Kenya” coalition to govern (393).

Share

Updated at 

First result of the night

Seán Clarke

From the visuals team

The first constituency results have just been published by the Federal Returning Officer.

They give the CSU (the CDU’s Bavarian sister party) a hefty lead with 38% of “second” (party-list) votes in the northern Bavarian constituency of Hof. AfD came second with 24.3%, and SPD third with 13.5%.

Bavaria is CDU/CSU heartland so probably more interesting is the change figures – the SPD are down nearly 11 percentage points against 2021, and the AfD are up 12.6.

You can follow all results as they come in here:

Share

‘Elephant round’ on TV as leaders give their reactions

Kate Connolly

Kate Connolly

Berlin correspondent

Party leaders and representatives take part in the Berlin Round at the ARD TV Capital Studio in Berlin. Photograph: Getty Images

A regular date on the evening after the exit polls is the so-called Berliner Runde – sometimes referred to as the ‘elephant round’ in which the main candidates of all the parties chew over the results of the election on TV, some licking their wounds, others basking in the glow of success.

The lively round has just kicked off, with Scholz admitting that the result for the SPD is “very bitter” but he’ll stay in the role of chancellor until another government is in place.

Merz has just spoken of his satisfaction that the result is “very clear and distinct”, and said he will strive to “form a government which represents all voters”. He said he had made no secret of the fact that he wanted a single coalition partner – to ease the role of governing – (currently looking most likely to be the SPD) but that a three-way coalition – so called Kenya with the Greens – was also “conceivable”. He said having explicitly ruled out a coalition with the AfD, he did not in any way feel obliged to reconsider his position even though AfD voters had wanted such an alliance.

Weidel, looking triumphant, said she could not view this declaration of exclusion as a defeat, as her party had earned its strongest result, doubling its success on three years ago, the party having only formed 12 years ago. She said the AfD had “arrived”, having now established itself as a ‘Volkspartei’ or big-tent party.

She repeated her invitation made to the CDU/CSU earlier in the evening – her party’s hand was “outstretched” to form a coalition, and said that it planned to support any “sensible proposals” made by the CDU, calling the party’s victory ‘pyrrhic’, and saying the CDU, if it entered a coalition with the SPD, would have to explain to its voters “how they want to implement the policies of the left”. This would backfire, she inferred.

The CDU had copied the AfD’s campaign manifesto, she said again, “but won’t be able to implement it with the left.”

Weidel predicted an “unstable government which will not last the next four years”, saying the AfD would be waiting in the wings to take over the helm.

Share

Updated at 

So US president Donald Trump has just congratulated the CDU/CSU for its projected “very big” win, claiming in an ALL-CAPS post on Truth Social that “the people of Germany got tired of the no common sense agenda, especially on energy and immigration”.

“This is a great day for Germany and for the United States of America under the leadership of a gentleman named Donald J. Trump,” he said, referring to himself in third person.

“Congratulations to all – many more victories to follow.”

Remember that Trump has German roots, which probably explains the interest.

Share

Updated at 

Notable success of far-left Die Linke – snap analysis

Kate Connolly

Kate Connolly

Berlin correspondent

Heidi Reichinnek (centre), top candidate for the Left Party (Die Linke), co-leaders Jan van Aken (centre-right) and Ines Schwerdtner (centre-left), react with party members to initial results during the party election event in Berlin. Photograph: Ronald Wittek/EPA

Undoubtedly one of the most interesting developments of the night is the success of the far-left Die Linke which it had been thought would not make it into parliament, having been squeezed almost out of existence by the dramatic breakaway of many of its MPs under the lure of Sahra Wagenknecht who formed the BSW.

But Die Linke has secured 8.5% and, so far, the BSW looks like it will fail to get into parliament.

Heidi Reichinnek, Die Linke’s charismatic leader, is being credited with having boosted the party’s fortunes. In particular it had much success amongst first time voters, having tripled its social media budget, after taking a leaf out of the AfD’s book, which has done very well in this voter segment in recent elections.

Speaking to the party faithful at Die Linke’s headquarters earlier this evening, Reichinnek said she was “unbelievably grateful” to voters, saying the result proved “that our focus on social topics was particularly successful”.

She said the party would continue in the same vein, fighting on issues such as affordable rents or decreasing VAT on food, and would try to be “louder and clearer than the others” on these topics.

Share

Updated at 

What this means for Ukraine – expert view

Speaking about Ukraine, I have asked Dr Raphael Bossong of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs what the election could mean for Germany’s support for Ukraine.

Here is what he said:

If there is one area where there is a reasonably large consensus [in German politics] that is to support Ukraine.

German election outcome should not threaten support for Ukraine, analyst says – video

Share

Updated at 

What we know at 8pm German time

Updated exit poll figures

  • The conservative CDU/CSU is on course to win the German federal election and form a new government, with its leader Friedrich Merz insisting there is no time to waste as he signalled his intent to quickly find a coalition arrangement that would give him a stable majority.

  • The far-right Alternative für Deutschland party celebrated its highest-ever result in a federal poll, with its co-leader Alice Weidel saying she was ready to enter into talks about joining the government, despite previous declarations from CDU/CSU that they would not entertain such a scenario.

  • The Social Democratic party has been left reeling on the back of a historically low vote share, with outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz admitting it was a “bitter result”.

  • But the shape of the future government will likely be influenced by what happens to the smaller parties, with both the FDP and the BSW still too close to the 5% threshold to call it whether they will sit in the next Bundestag. Their presence – or not – would dramatically alter the parliamentary arithmetic, potentially forcing the CDU/CSU into a three-way coalition.

Share

Updated at 

What’s in Merz’s in-tray as incoming chancellor?

Kate Connolly

Kate Connolly

Berlin correspondent

Friedrich Merz, a former banker who has never been a government minister, appears almost certain to be the next chancellor of Germany as his conservative CDU/CSU alliance are projected to win the most votes in Sunday’s crucial federal election.

What in his in-tray?

  • Relations with the US under Donald Trump

  • Fixing the economy

  • Ukraine

  • Responding to the rapid rise of the far right

  • Dealing with the shadow of Angela Merkel

Read more about each of these five key points here:

Share

Updated at 

Not everyone is keen on working with the Greens, though.

The CSU leader, Markus Söder, suggested to the party faithful that CDU/CSU can form a government without the Greens, and “they should go into opposition” instead.

Let’s see if his view evolves as the night goes on.

Share

Updated at 

German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has called for a strong government in response to the rapid rise of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland, hinting at her Green party’s availability to enter into any coalition talks with the CDU/CSU.

The Greens are currently forecast to come fourth at 12.7%. slightly below their 2021 result.

Share

Updated at 

share Share facebook pinterest whatsapp x print

Similar Content

Astrophysicist combines art and science to uncover secrets of universe
Astrophysicist combines art and science to uncover secrets of universe March 4, 2025
Trump Says He Wrote to Iran to Open Nuclear Talks
Trump Says He Wrote to Iran to Open Nuclear Talks March 8, 2025
Starmer highlights UK’s war record in implicit rebuke to Vance as Lib Dems mock Badenoch for defending him – UK politics live
Starmer highlights UK’s war record in implicit rebuke to Vance as Lib Dems mock Badenoch for defending him – UK politics live March 5, 2025
Reflecting on three years of cyber warfare in Ukraine | Computer Weekly
Reflecting on three years of cyber warfare in Ukraine | Computer Weekly February 25, 2025
Trump administration firings raise concerns about vulnerability of election systems
Trump administration firings raise concerns about vulnerability of election systems February 25, 2025
UK hopes to be a ‘bridge’ between Europe and Trump’s US, minister says
UK hopes to be a ‘bridge’ between Europe and Trump’s US, minister says February 16, 2025

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

▲
Disruptive News: The Stories Shaping the Future | © 2025 | Daily News