German election: Polls open, Christian Coalition expected to win

International breaking German Elections Christian Coalition

2025-02-23T10:41:52+00:00

Shafaq News/ On Sunday, voters in Germany began casting their ballots at polling stations to choose a new parliament, thereby determining the political landscape for the next four years.

Around 59 million eligible voters were called to the polls, which opened at 8:00 a.m. local time and will close at 6:00 p.m.

The election was brought forward following the collapse of the ruling coalition, which included the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens Party, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) in November.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) lost a confidence vote in parliament, forcing the early elections, initially scheduled for September.

Polls indicate that the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, led by candidate Friedrich Merz, is likely to win, with support ranging between 28% and 32%. The right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) follows in second place with 20% to 21%, followed by the SPD with 14% to 16%, and the Greens at 12% to 14%.

The Left Party has a chance of entering the parliament with up to 8% of the vote.

There is doubt over whether the FDP (4% to 5%) and the “Alliance for Sara Wagenknecht” party (3% to 5%) will clear the 5% threshold needed to enter parliament.

Merz aims to form a ruling coalition between the CDU (composed of Merz's Christian Democratic Union and the Bavarian Christian Social Union) and either the SPD or the Greens. However, Markus Söder, leader of the Bavarian Christian Social Union, firmly opposes any coalition with the Greens.

If smaller parties surpass the 5% threshold, the CDU may need to seek a third partner for the government coalition.

The new parliament is required to convene no later than 30 days after the election, by March 25. However, it is not expected that a decision on the future government will be made until weeks or months after the election.

The newly elected parliament will be significantly smaller, following reforms that set the number of parliamentary members at 630, more than 100 fewer than the current number.