BERLIN: Germany’s centre-right CDU/CSU bloc has won the national election by a wide margin, securing Friedrich Merz’s path to the chancellery, according to the federal returning officer.
Merz’s alliance — comprising the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) — outpaced the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which surged to second place after nearly doubling its 2021 support.
The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz fell to third place in a long-expected defeat.
Meanwhile, the populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) and the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) failed to meet the Bundestag’s five per cent entry threshold. – BERNAMA
