A downcast mood hung over Germany ahead of the snap elections. The week before 83 per cent of voters admitted in a survey to having a pessimistic outlook on the situation the country is in. But turnouts were remarkably high: 84 per cent of voters went out to cast their vote, up from 36.5 per cent in 2021. One thing all voters can agree on is the desperate need for change.
The CDU, the centre-Right party of Germany, has been given another chance at power. At 28.5 per cent, the party has won back some voters, compared to the 24.1 per cent they got in 2021 after 16 years under Chancellor Merkel. However, that is still underperforming when you consider how hated the prior left-wing coalition government was.
Related … Germany’s next chancellor warns Nato could soon be dead
Friedrich Merz, who is poised to become Germany’s next chancellor, has warned Nato could be finished and Europe must prepare to build an alliance “independent” from the US.
In stark comments, Mr Merz, 69, leader of the centre-Right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), suggested the continent may have to “quickly” establish an “independent European defence capability”.
After exit-polls predicted Mr Merz would win the election, Donald Trump hailed the result as a “great day for Germany and for the United States of America”.
