Germany’s Messy Election Results Won’t Ease Voters’ Fears
It won’t be easy for the winning CDU/CSU party to form a stable coalition and implement the change Germans want.
Friedrich Merz (R), leader of Germany's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), reacts next to Bavaria's State Premier and Leader of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) Markus Soeder.
Photographer: INA FASSBENDER/AFPGermans headed to the polls on Sunday in what felt like the country’s most intensely anticipated election in decades. The preliminary results reflect what pollsters had predicted: a right-wing turn with a comfortable win for the conservative CDU/CSU party and a second place for the anti-immigration AfD. But the fears of many German voters also appear confirmed: The results make it difficult for the CDU/CSU to form a stable coalition and even harder to implement the policy change so many want. Germany’s political and economic future hangs in the balance.
A record 84% of Germany’s nearly 60 million eligible voters turned out — the highest percentage since 1990. The vast majority voted for change. The government of chancellor Olaf Scholz was deeply unpopular. Looking back on the three years of his left-wing coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Free Liberals (FDP), only 17% of Germans were satisfied with their work, according to a survey taken just before the election.