Germany’s anticipated next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is set to begin coalition negotiations on Monday after his conservative bloc secured victory in a national election that saw far-right and far-left parties gain traction among disaffected voters.
Merz, 69, who has no prior experience in office, faces the challenge of leading Europe’s largest economy amid economic struggles, societal divisions over migration, and heightened geopolitical tensions between the US, Russia, and China.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) surged to a historic second-place finish following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-way alliance. With mainstream parties refusing to work with the AfD, Merz must engage in extended coalition talks with Scholz’s centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), a process that could take months.
Following his election win, Merz also criticised the US, condemning “ultimately outrageous” remarks from Washington during the campaign and comparing them to Russian interference. “For me, the absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that we can achieve real independence from the USA step by step,” he said on Sunday.
Provisional results show Merz’s CDU/CSU bloc leading with 28.6%, followed by AfD with 20.8%—the party’s best-ever result. Despite AfD’s endorsement by figures like Elon Musk, German security services continue to monitor the party over extremism concerns.
Merz, however, will not require support from the Greens to secure a majority, as the newly formed BSW party, led by former Left party leader Sahra Wagenknecht, failed to meet the 5% threshold for parliamentary entry.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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