Conservatives come out victorious in Germany’s parliamentary elections

Germany’s conservative coalition, consisting of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU), has emerged victorious in the parliamentary elections, securing 28.6% of the vote, Anadolu Agency reported citing the Electoral Commission on Monday.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party placed second with 20.8%, a significant increase of 10.4 percentage points from the last election. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) followed in third with 16.4%, while the Green Party came in fourth with 11.6%.

The Left Party achieved 8.8%, marking a rise of 3.9 percentage points compared to the previous election. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) fell below the 5% threshold, receiving 4.3% of the votes. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), participating in the elections for the first time, narrowly missed the threshold with 4.9%.

In terms of seat distribution in the Bundestag, the CDU/CSU holds 208 seats, the AfD 152, the SPD 120, the Greens 85, and the Left Party 62. A majority in the Bundestag requires at least 316 deputies, indicating that no single party can govern alone. Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats could form a parliamentary majority by potentially allying with the Social Democrats, which would result in a combined total of 328 seats. Alternatively, a three-party coalition including the Greens would yield 413 seats.