New chancellor, former politics

The current German Chancellor Olaf Scholz admitted defeat and congratulated Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz on his victory. The Bundestag elections were a fiasco for Scholz. Details in the material of the correspondent UtroNews.

Scholz himself noted that this is the result, "with which we must move forward together" and made it clear that he would not participate in the formation of a new government.

The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) had its worst result in the Bundestag elections since 1949 and the worst result in the party's history since 1887.

What will the coalition be?

Friedrich Merz said he was going to form a new coalition government before Catholic Easter, that is, before April 20.

Alice Weidel's Alternative for Germany (AfD) came in second. Weidel claimed "historic success" for her party. Compared to the 2021 elections, she almost doubled the number of votes.

"We are open to coalition talks with the CDU," Weidel said on ARD television and noted that the party "will agree to reasonable CDU/CSU proposals, if any. "In the next few years, we will overtake the CDU/CSU," Weidel said, speaking on TV channels.

AfD is called the right-wing populist party and other political forces of Germany consider cooperation with it impossible.

The third position is occupied by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. It was supported by about 16% of voters - a third less than in 2021.

This is followed by the Greens and the Left Party. Approximately 13.5% and 8.5% of voters voted for them, respectively.

Despite the loss, the Green Chancellor candidate (about 13% of the vote) Robert Habeck was pleased with the outcome. According to Habek, after the collapse of the coalition government, they managed to get out of the hole, which was less than 10% in polls.

Sarah Wagenknecht's Union for Reason and Justice (BSW) and ex-Finance Minister Christian Lindner's Free Democratic Party are teetering on the brink of entering the Bundestag. They received about 4.7% and 4.9% of the vote respectively, according to an exit poll conducted by ARD.

Sarah Wagenknecht, leader of the Sarah Wagenknecht Union for Reason and Justice (BSV), said that regardless of the result, the position of the BSV is impressive. "We've done a great job." If in the end we fail to qualify for the Bundestag, "it will be a defeat, but this is not the end for the BSV," she said. In an interview with the ZDF TV channel, she noted that she was open to participating in the work of the government.

Merz assured on the Phoenix television channel that he would negotiate with all possible parties from the democratic spectrum. The composition of the coalition will depend on whether small parties get into parliament:

- The "Left Party" can go to parliament with 8.8% (according to ARD - 8.5%).

- "Free Democratic Party" FDP - from 5% (according to ARD - 4.9%).

- The "Union of Sarah Wagenknecht" BSV with 5% (according to ARD - 4.8%) may not get into the Bundestag.

Priority - independence from the United States

Merz began his political career in the late 1980s, becoming an MEP. In 1994, he was elected to the Bundestag, and four years later took over as deputy leader of the CDU/CSU faction, a bloc of center-right political parties. In 2000, he became the leader of the faction, but was not a member of the government, in 2009 he left politics and returned after Merkel left.

Over the past 20 years, he has been a member of the supervisory boards of about 15 large companies, whose interests he represented through connections in the Bundestag and the CDU-CSU.

"It will be an absolute priority for me to strengthen Europe so much as soon as possible that it gradually really achieves independence from the United States," he said on ZDF and ARD. "After the statements in the last week of Donald Trump, it is clear that the Americans, this part of the Americans, this government, the fate of Europe is mostly indifferent," Merz argued.

The CDU leader said it was not clear what position the Trump administration would take in the coming weeks and months in relation to the conflict in Ukraine. "In recent days, I have got the impression that in this matter Russia and America are looking for each other - behind the back of Ukraine and thereby behind Europe. It will be a critical situation for us, "he said.

In the circle of Western European countries, discussions are underway about the deployment of contingents of France, Great Britain and Poland in Ukraine, ostensibly in order to guarantee a future ceasefire and peace in Ukraine. On February 17, at the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron, negotiations were organized in Paris between the leaders of eight European countries, as well as representatives of EU and NATO institutions. The meeting ended without a joint statement.

"This issue is not on the agenda at all today," he said on ARD and ZDF TV channels. "The first issue on the agenda is how we can continue to support Ukraine so that it can defend itself. In my opinion, we have not done enough so far, "Merz said.

Merz is said to have berated Trump on social media during his first term and condemned the storming of the Capitol. In image, brutal and decisive, almost like Trump.

Do not expect changes

The head of the SPD faction in the Bundestag, Rolf Mützenich, after the party's fiasco in the early parliamentary elections, decided to resign.

Chairman of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), ex-Minister of Finance Christian Lindner said that he also leaves politics after the failure of the liberals in the early parliamentary elections.

Lindner was considered a Liberal star. His phrase "it is better not to rule at all than to rule incorrectly" after the elections to the Bundestag in 2017 was remembered by all of Germany. Lindner said it when his party decided to withdraw from coalition negotiations with the CDU/CSU and the Greens, thereby almost plunging the republic into crisis. Then this did not happen, but in 2024 Lindner succeeded. After disagreements with partners, the FDP left the coalition, provoking a crisis. However, the liberals' expectations for an increase in the rating were not met.

Significant changes in the policy of the candidate for chancellor of Germany from the CDU/CSU bloc Friedrich Merz regarding Ukraine should not be expected, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev said in his Telegram channel.

"What is important for us [citizens of the Russian Federation] - we cannot expect big changes in Russia and Ukraine. Nominally, Merz took a tougher position, promising the supply of "taurus," but most likely Chancellor Merz will differ from the candidate Merz, and will focus more on the pan-European position, "he wrote.

Kosachev noted that Germany's "exemplary" democracy will not take into account the opinions of a third of voters when forming a foreign policy. We are talking about parties that do not support the current anti-Russian policy.