24 Feb 2025

Germany Election Result: CDU/CSA #1, AfD #2

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The conservative CDU/CSU bloc will take the lead in forming a new governing coalition, with Christian Democratic Union leader Friedrich Merz expected to be its new Chancellor.

Germany has the largest national economy in Europe and is a pillar of the EU.

After the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s unliked three-way coalition led by the Social Democrats, Germany swung distinctly to the right in its election. CDU/CSU took first place with 28.6%. Far-right Alternative für Deutschland came second at 20.8%, nearly twice its vote share in 2021. Elon Musk weighed in on behalf of AfD during the election not only with funding but also with high profile appearance in at least one campaign event and with his social media platform X.

Mainstream parties rule out including AfD in the governing coalition, but during the campaign Merz breached taboo by wooing AfD support in order to pass a non-binding resolution for his controversial plans to restrict immigration. He wants to turn away at the border asylum seekers and other immigrants, which Social Democrats and Greens say goes against both German and EU law regarding refugees.

In his first speech after the election results were called, Merz said the USA’s efforts to influence the German election were comparable to Russia’s hostile interference. “For me, the absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that we can achieve real independence from the USA step by step.”

He went on to say, “I never thought I would have to say something like this on a television program. But after Donald Trump’s statements last week at the latest, it is clear that the Americans, at least this part of the Americans, this administration, are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe.”

He also said, “I am very curious to see how we are heading toward the NATO summit at the end of June. Whether we will still be talking about NATO in its current form or whether we will have to establish an independent European defense capability much more quickly.”

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