Germany: Friedrich Merz's party secures victory amidst rising far-right

The conservative leader, whose party gained a majority in the Bundestag following the early elections on Sunday, is expected to succeed the outgoing chancellor, the Social Democrat Olaf Scholz.

German opposition leader Friedrich Merz's conservative party was poised for a modest win in the national election on Sunday, while the Alternative for Germany party nearly doubled its support, achieving the best results for a far-right party since World War II, according to projections.

Jan van Aken, Chairman of the Left Party, stated, "Today, over four million people voted for the Left Party, signaling a desire for a different world. This represents four million individuals with whom we can collaborate in the coming years to create a better, more beautiful, and fairer society. We are prepared, and I look forward to working with you in the years ahead."

Chancellor Olaf Scholz conceded defeat for his center-left Social Democrats, calling the results “a bitter election outcome.”

Projections from ARD and ZDF public television suggested that his party would end up in third place, marking its worst performance in a national parliamentary election since World War II.

Among the smaller parties, the hard-left Left Party made gains, capturing up to 9% of the vote after a significant resurgence during the campaign.

In a speech following the initial election results, party leader Jan van Aken warned Friedrich Merz that the Left Party would staunchly oppose any cuts to social services in the future.

Meanwhile, the pro-business Free Democrats and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance were both nearing the 5% threshold needed to secure seats.

FDP leader Christian Lindner described the expected election results as a setback for the Free Democrats but emphasized that "political liberalism will be more important than ever in the coming years, which is why the Free Democratic flag will be raised again starting tomorrow."