Germany Election Maps: How Conservatives Regained Power

Germany’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) won Sunday’s election as voters rebuked the nation’s left-leaning government for its handling of the economy and immigration.

Voters gave the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party the second-highest number of seats in Parliament, ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens, according to provisional results.

There were smaller surprises, including the last-minute surge of the far-left party Die Linke. The liberal and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), who had been a part of the last government until November, did not meet the 5 percent vote threshold they would need to maintain seats in Parliament. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), a pro-Russia splinter from the old German left that formed last year, also fell just short of qualifying for parliamentary seats.

Highlighting the widespread discontent with Mr. Scholz’s government over the last three years, all three parties in the coalition — the Social Democrats, the Greens and FDP — lost support.

Vote shifts since 2021

Germans cast two votes when they go to the polls. The first vote goes to elect a direct representative for their district, while the second vote is cast for a party.

Arrows show the increase or decrease in each party’s vote share in the second vote, compared with the last general election.

Support for the Social Democrats plunged everywhere, but nowhere more than in the east. The Christian Democrats made gains throughout the southern and western districts.

The coalitions

The Christian Democrats will need to build a coalition to govern because they did not win an outright majority of seats. Given Sunday’s results, the most likely pairing is the CDU and the incumbent Social Democrats. That combination, known as a grand coalition, is historically stable and has been repeatedly tested, most recently during Angela Merkel’s final term as chancellor.

The largest possible coalition, the one between the Christian Democrats and AfD, is politically not an option, as mainstream parties have pledged not to work with the far-right party.