Angela Merkel won, but her party had its worst election since 1949
After 12 years in office, German Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term in Sunday's national elections, though it was the worst showing since 1949 for both her conservative Christian Democratic Union-Christian Social Union (CDU-CSU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD). The recently formed Alternative for Germany (AfD) party won about 94 seats in the 709-seat Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, making it the third-largest bloc and the first right-wing nationalist party to win seats since World War II. Merkel's bloc will have about 246 seats.
The SPD, which had governed in coalition with Merkel's Christian Democrats, said it will go into opposition, leaving Merkel with a narrow path to a governing majority, likely with the pro-business Free Democrats and the Greens — called a "Jamaica coalition" because the parties' colors form the Jamaican flag. Merkel said she'd hoped for a "better result." But the AfD had its own issues. At an AfD news conference on Monday, party co-chairwoman Frauke Petry, who had unsuccesfully pushed for excluding extremist members, announced that "after long reflection," she wouldn't caucus with her party in the Bundestag, then walked out without taking questions. "I'd like to apologize in the name of my party," co-chairman Joerg Meuthen said after she left. "This wasn't discussed with us."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Political cartoons for February 20Cartoons Friday’s political cartoons include just the ice, winter games, and more
-
Sepsis ‘breakthrough’: the world’s first targeted treatment?The Explainer New drug could reverse effects of sepsis, rather than trying to treat infection with antibiotics
-
James Van Der Beek obituary: fresh-faced Dawson’s Creek starIn The Spotlight Van Der Beek fronted one of the most successful teen dramas of the 90s – but his Dawson fame proved a double-edged sword
-
NIH director Bhattacharya tapped as acting CDC headSpeed Read Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of the CDC’s Covid-19 response, will now lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
