The federal elections on 23 February 2025 saw the conservative CDU/CSU, led by Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz, emerge as the winners. Due to the strong results of the right-wing AfD, with whom the CDU/CSU had previously ruled out a coalition, the only remaining option for a two-party coalition was an alliance with the Social Democrats of incumbent Chancellor Scholz. On 9 April, the CDU/CSU and SPD presented the results of their negotiations. This coalition agreement, if adopted by the parties, will form the basis for the new government's work during the 2025-2029 term of office.
On 23 February 2025, almost 60 million German voters elected a new parliament in snap elections after the governing coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens (B90/Die Grünen) and the Liberals (FDP) broke apart in November 2024.
As expected, the conservative CDU/CSU under their chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz won the election. Since the CDU/CSU had ruled out cooperation with the far-right AfD before the election, the election result means that a two-party coalition is only possible with the social democratic SPD of the incumbent Chancellor Scholz. The AfD is the second strongest party and thus the strongest opposition parliamentary group. While the left-wing party (Die Linke) surprisingly succeeded in re-entering parliament, the liberal FDP and the left-party split-off BSW failed to enter parliament. Freshfields keeps an eye on the latest developments and positioning regarding the election and the formation of a government.
German federal election insights
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