Merz, an old-school conservative who has never held a government role previously, is set to lead Europe’s biggest economy and most populous state, after his center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party won 28.6% of the vote, according to preliminary official results.
“Let’s get the party started,” Merz, 69, told s
upporters as he declared victory at the CDU’s party headquarters in central Berlin, an apparent nod to wanting to get coalition negotiations underway quickly as the region grapples with Trump’s upending of Europe and US relations.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) became the second-largest party, with an unprecedented 20.8%, preliminary official results showed, meaning the party – once on the fringes as officially suspected of extremism – is now a major political force. However, it faces exclusion from government by other parties, due to what is known as a “firewall” arrangement.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) took just 16.4% of the vote following the collapse of its “traffic light coalition” government – a dramatic turnaround in the party’s fortunes since the 2021 election, when it won 25.7%.
Merz, 69, now faces an enormous task following Sunday’s snap election that was dominated by concerns over immigration, the economy and the return of US President Donald Trump.
“My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA,” he said at a roundtable event later on Sunday.
Co-leader of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and her party's top candidate for Chancellor Alice Weidel and co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Tino Chrupalla cheer with party members during the electoral evening in Berlin on February 23, 2025, after the first exit polls in the German general elections. (Photo by Soeren Stache / POOL / AFP) (Photo by SOEREN STACHE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
AfD co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla cheer with party members on election night in Berlin on Sunday. Soeren Stache/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
“I would never have believed that I would have to say something like that on television. But at the very least, after Donald Trump’s statements last week, it is clear that the Americans - at least this part of the Americans in this administration - are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe,” he added.
Sunday’s preliminary results cap off an eventful election period that drew extraordinary involvement from White House officials and has once again seen debate rage around Germany’s immigration policies.
Trump sent shockwaves across Europe after he pushed ahead with peace talks on Ukraine with Russia, excluding both Kyiv and European leaders – prompting European leaders to hold emergency talks to discuss its unified response on the crisis.
Merz also referenced Elon Musk’s “intervention in the German election campaign” in recent days. “The interventions from Washington were no less dramatic and drastic and ultimately outrageous than the interventions we have seen from Moscow,” he said at the televised event.
“We are under such massive pressure from two sides that my top priority is to create unity in Europe.”
