Exit polls show Germany’s Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) have won federal elections with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) doubling its vote to finish a strong second – amid a massively increased turnout.
German public TV stations showed the CDU/CSU at around 29 percent support, while the AfD got its strongest ever showing at 20 percent.
The Social Democrats of Chancellor Olaf Scholz got what would likely be their worst ever result with some 16 percent. Scholz called the outcome “a historic defeat” for is party.
The poll results put CDU/CSU leader Friedrich Merz in pole position to form the next government, although he will need to form a coalition with other parties. He’s almost certain to need the Social Democrats but also perhaps the Greens to do so, making for a potentially unwieldy grouping.
The AfD surge is widely credited to widespread concerns over immigration. The party has campaigned for mass deportations following a series of brutal attacks for which the police have arrested migrants.
"Our hand will always be outstretched to take part in government, in order to enact the will of the people,” said AfD leader Alice Weidel after the vote. But other parties have refused to work with the AfD, accusing it of racism and extremism.
Migration was a key election issue, but so was the economy as it appeared heading into a third year of stagnation.
Voter turnout in the German election on Sunday jumped to 83%, according to public broadcaster ZDF, representing the highest turnout since German reunification in 1990.
This compares to turnout of 76.4% in the last national elections in 2021.
Full results will emerge in the coming hours.
Merz has also pledged to be tougher on migration, as well as to provide greater aid to Ukraine.
“We are not neutral. We are on Ukraine's side. We are defending the values we share,” he said in one of the final TV debates.
Before the vote, CDU/CSU lawmaker Juergen Hardt told RFE/RL that it would take 6-8 weeks for the new government to form, leaving Scholz in charge for now.
“The new German Chancellor will search for direct contact to the U.S. President as soon as possible. I expect that President Trump will be in Europe in June when we have the NATO summit and around that time [there will be] a clear German position,” he said.
