Friedrich Merz, the candidate for Chancellor of Germany from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) bloc, announced the victory of the conservatives in the early elections for the Bundestag and called for the formation of a new government as soon as possible.
“We have won the elections for the Bundestag in 2025“, he announced at the CDU headquarters in Berlin. “The most important thing is to form a working government in Germany again as soon as possible”, said Merz. “The world outside is not waiting for us“, he added.
“I am aware of the responsibility. I know it will not be easy”, the leader of the Christian Democrats stressed.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the result of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in the Bundestag elections a defeat, admitting his responsibility for it.
“This is a bitter result for the party, this is an electoral loss“, Scholz said at the SPD headquarters in Berlin after the announcement of the preliminary results of today's vote.
Scholz noted that he managed to achieve a victory for the SPD in the 2021 elections, but the defeat in the last vote is also his responsibility. I bear responsibility for this result“, the chancellor said. He also congratulated the leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) bloc, Friedrich Merz, on his victory.
According to the exit poll by the ARD television channel, the CDU/CSU bloc is winning the elections with around 29% of the vote, while the Social Democrats, with a historically low score of 16%, are in third place after the Alternative for Germany (AfD).