Live German election results
Friedrich Merz's conservatives (CDU/CSU) won Sunday’s national election in Germany, but in second place, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) earned its best result yet in Europe's ailing economic powerhouse. The outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) slumped to the party’s worst result since World War 2.
Now, tough coalition talks loom as Merz’s conservatives lack a strong negotiating hand. While his CDU/CSU emerged as the largest bloc, it scored its second worst post-war result, rebounding only some from its worst in 2021’s federal election. After decisively ruling out working with the second-place AfD, Merz will have to negotiate with Scholz’s centre-left SPD to form a coalition in talks that are likely to take months following a bruising campaign that highlighted policy differences.
Merz will, however, not have to rely on support from the Greens for an outright parliamentary majority, after the new BSW party founded by Sahra Wagenknecht, a former leader of the Left party, just missed the 5% threshold required to enter the lower house.
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Party vote by constituency
Possible coalitions
Parties and candidates
CDU/CSU
The expected winner on election night and traditionally conservative bloc is made up of former chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union. The “Union”, as it is usually called, stands for low taxes, budget discipline, conservative-liberal values and a strong, central role for Germany within the European Union and NATO.
The expected winner on election night and traditionally conservative bloc is made up of former chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union. The “Union”, as it is usually called, stands for low taxes, budget discipline, conservative-liberal values and a strong, central role for Germany within the European Union and NATO.
Where they were strongest
Small choropleth map of Germany showing the party vote share as a percentage for each constituency
Where they gained/lost
Small spike map of Germany showing the change in party vote share by constituency since the 2021 federal election
AfD
Set up as an anti-euro party in 2013 at the height of the euro zone debt crisis, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has morphed into an anti-immigrant grouping with some radical far-right members among its ranks. It capitalised on the 2015 migrant crisis to become the third biggest party after the 2017 election, before dropping seats in 2021. Recently, its leader, Alice Weidel, got a boost from abroad by the new U.S. administration, including a meeting with Vice President JD Vance and an endorsement from Elon Musk.
Set up as an anti-euro party in 2013 at the height of the euro zone debt crisis, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has morphed into an anti-immigrant grouping with some radical far-right members among its ranks. It capitalised on the 2015 migrant crisis to become the third biggest party after the 2017 election, before dropping seats in 2021. Recently, its leader, Alice Weidel, got a boost from abroad by the new U.S. administration, including a meeting with Vice President JD Vance and an endorsement from Elon Musk.
Where they were strongest
Small choropleth map of Germany showing the party vote share as a percentage for each constituency
Where they gained/lost
Small spike map of Germany showing the change in party vote share by constituency since the 2021 federal election
SPD
Germany’s oldest party and the main centre-left force, the collapse of its governing coalition with the Greens and FDP last November led to a snap election. The party’s support has further ebbed in polls behind the CDU/CSU and AfD.
Germany’s oldest party and the main centre-left force, the collapse of its governing coalition with the Greens and FDP last November led to a snap election. The party’s support has further ebbed in polls behind the CDU/CSU and AfD.
Where they were strongest
Small choropleth map of Germany showing the party vote share as a percentage for each constituency
Where they gained/lost
Small spike map of Germany showing the change in party vote share by constituency since the 2021 federal election
Greens
Born out of the pacifist movement of the 1960s, the party first took a role in government in 2002. The Greens’ main focus is on climate change, and they have widened their appeal by developing clearer social and economic policies, such as loosening strict fiscal rules to allow more public investment. In recent years, they’ve taken steps away from their pacifist roots and backed sending arms, including long-range Taurus missiles, to Ukraine.
Born out of the pacifist movement of the 1960s, the party first took a role in government in 2002. The Greens’ main focus is on climate change, and they have widened their appeal by developing clearer social and economic policies, such as loosening strict fiscal rules to allow more public investment. In recent years, they’ve taken steps away from their pacifist roots and backed sending arms, including long-range Taurus missiles, to Ukraine.
Where they were strongest
Small choropleth map of Germany showing the party vote share as a percentage for each constituency
Where they gained/lost
Small spike map of Germany showing the change in party vote share by constituency since the 2021 federal election
The Left
A radical left party which includes some former East German communists, The Left has historically struggled to attract broad voter support but made a late surge in the polls after its leader stood up in parliament to lash the front-running conservatives for breaking a historic taboo on cooperating with the far right. Policies include big tax hikes for the rich and rethinking the NATO defence alliance.
A radical left party which includes some former East German communists, The Left has historically struggled to attract broad voter support but made a late surge in the polls after its leader stood up in parliament to lash the front-running conservatives for breaking a historic taboo on cooperating with the far right. Policies include big tax hikes for the rich and rethinking the NATO defence alliance.
Where they were strongest
Small choropleth map of Germany showing the party vote share as a percentage for each constituency
Where they gained/lost
Small spike map of Germany showing the change in party vote share by constituency since the 2021 federal election
BSW
Founded by its eponymous leader, Sahra Wagenknecht, an icon of Germany's hard left, the BSW splintered from The Left in early 2024, promising voters less bureaucracy, lower taxes and better pensions, and called for an end to arms for Ukraine.
Founded by its eponymous leader, Sahra Wagenknecht, an icon of Germany's hard left, the BSW splintered from The Left in early 2024, promising voters less bureaucracy, lower taxes and better pensions, and called for an end to arms for Ukraine.
Where they were strongest
Small choropleth map of Germany showing the party vote share as a percentage for each constituency
FDP
Dubbed the party of doctors and dentists, the FDP campaigns for low tax and deregulation. Often kingmaker, the party has shared power with both conservatives and the SPD in the last 70 years.
Dubbed the party of doctors and dentists, the FDP campaigns for low tax and deregulation. Often kingmaker, the party has shared power with both conservatives and the SPD in the last 70 years.
Where they were strongest
Small choropleth map of Germany showing the party vote share as a percentage for each constituency
Where they gained/lost
Small spike map of Germany showing the change in party vote share by constituency since the 2021 federal election
Key issues
Key issues
Germany's mainstream parties all favour helping Ukraine fend off Russia's invasion, while the AfD and BSW want an end to weapons deliveries to Kyiv and a resumption of good relations with Moscow.
However, Scholz and his SPD have recently struck a more cautious tone - emphasising the need for diplomacy - than the conservatives, Greens and FDP, who are all in favour of Germany delivering long-range Taurus missiles to Kyiv.
How the new voting system works
Under Germany’s previous voting system, Bundestag seats were proportionally allocated by topping up parliament with extra seats after winners were found in each of 299 constituencies. This ensured parties held seats in line with their share of the vote, regardless of the distribution of constituency seats.
In 2021, that led to a parliament of 735 seats, one of the largest legislatures in the world.
A new law fixes parliament at 630 seats. Now, if a party wins a share of seats that is greater in proportion to their share of the national vote, some constituencies will be left vacant, starting with those where the winning candidates have the narrowest margin of victory.
The change may hurt parties that are traditionally strong in single-member constituencies - in particular the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of the Christian Democrats (CDU).
A flow chart showing the process of the new voting system.
Each voter casts two votes - the first vote represents choice of local representative, the second vote represents preference of the political party.
In order to earn seats in the German Bundestag, parties must pass one of two tests: Its candidates must win at least 3 local elections in the first vote or the party must win more than 5% of all votes cast in the second vote.
Parties that fail to pass both tests don’t earn any seats in parliament. The shares of nationwide votes are adjusted accordingly among the other parties.
The 630 seats in the Bundestag are distributed among the parties based on the adjusted proportion of nationwide votes.
Correction
An earlier version of the 2021 party vote results map incorrectly used 2025 constituency IDs causing the incorrect constituency’s results to be displayed. This has been corrected.
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Sources
Edited by
Jon McClure