It has been an extraordinary election in Germany, and the result has been keenly awaited around the world to see what new government might emerge in Europe’s largest but ailing economy. Frontrunners from the start of this race, which was called in November, the conservatives had a standing start under Friedrich Merz, a multimillionaire former corporate lawyer and banker, who is now set to take the helm. However, the alliance cannot govern alone: it received about 29% of the vote, not an overall majority. Merz said on 24 February that his conservative bloc had won a sufficient number of seats in the national election to build a coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). He added that talks would start in the next few days and last several weeks Germany has voted. But what kind of government will it have? A country divided: Five key takeaways from the German election
Friedrich Merz looks to build coalition after no party wins a majority in German elections
5 std vor
It has been an extraordinary election in Germany, and the result has been keenly awaited around the world to see what new government might emerge in Europe’s largest but ailing economy. Frontrunners from the start of this race, which was called in November, the conservatives had a standing start under Friedrich Merz, a multimillionaire former corporate lawyer and banker, who is now set to take the helm. However, the alliance cannot govern alone: it received about 29% of the vote, not an overall majority. Merz said on 24 February that his conservative bloc had won a sufficient number of seats in the national election to build a coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). He added that talks would start in the next few days and last several weeks Germany has voted. But what kind of government will it have? A country divided: Five key takeaways from the German election
