Germany’s centre-left secures narrow win in end-of-era election
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Germany’s centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) have secured a narrow win over outgoing Angela Merkel’s conservatives in national elections, with chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz claiming a “clear mandate” to form the next government.
The SPD won 25.7 percent of the vote, ahead of 24.1 percent for Merkel’s centre-right CDU-CSU conservative bloc, according to provisional results from Sunday’s election released on Monday.
The Greens scooped 14.8 percent and the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) won 11.5 percent. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) picked up 10.3 percent of the vote – down from the 12.6 percent it took to enter parliament for the first time in 2017.
Scholz, 63, said he aimed to build a coalition with the Greens and the FDP, saying Germans had voted to send Merkel’s conservatives into opposition after 16 years in power.
“What you see here is a very happy SPD,” Scholz told cheering supporters on Monday, at his party’s headquarters in the capital, Berlin.
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“The voters have very clearly spoken … They strengthened three parties – the Social Democrats, Greens and FDP – and therefore that is the clear mandate the citizens of this country have given – these three should form the next government.”
The SPD’s recovery marks a tentative revival for centre-left parties in parts of Europe, following the election of Democrat Joe Biden as US president in 2020. Norway’s centre-left opposition party also won an election earlier this month.
Aljazeera
