How did the Germans vote? The far-right is the fastest-growing party, unlike the SPD, and the CDU wins but cannot govern alone

In Sunday's general elections, the three parties that belonged to Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition were punished, unlike the center-right (CDU) and the far-right (AfD), which grew and now occupy more than half of the German parliament. Without an absolute majority, the conservatives must find partners to be able to govern.

The results of the early German general elections this Sunday were not surprising. As predicted by the polls, the winner was the center-right bloc led by Friedrich Merz, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). However, the victory was not very impressive.

The CDU won 28.6% of the votes (11.1 million) together with its “sister” party in Bavaria, the Christian Social Union (CSU). This is the second worst result ever for the conservatives , despite their better performance than in the previous elections, in 2021. This time, the CDU/CSU bloc elected 208 deputies and, as it fell short of the 316 needed for an absolute majority in the Bundestag (lower house of the federal parliament), it needs partners to form a government.