Will the far right be the second largest party? Everything you need to know about Germany’s elections
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his government face being voted out of office next week, as Germany heads to the polls in an election dominated by Ukraine, energy prices and the rise of the far right.
The election comes after the ruling three-party coalition collapsed on the day Donald Trump’s return to the presidency was confirmed last year.
Here’s everything you need to know as Europe’s biggest economy goes to the polls.
When is the election and when will we know the result?
Elections will be held on 23 February across Germany.
Polls close at 6pm, after which the first results exit polls are published (they aren’t allowed before that time).
Additional, more precise projections follow soon after, based on votes counted at a handful of polling stations.
Generally, the preliminary official results are published on the night of the election, based on results from every polling station.
Olaf Scholz speaks ahead of the German election. Pic: Reuters
Who are the main parties?
Germany has two centrist, “big-tent” parties: Mr Scholz’s centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the opposition conservatives, made up of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).
Both of them have lost support in recent years, and smaller parties have gained ground such as the Greens and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Also running are the pro-market Free Democrats (FDP), the far-left Linke and the leftist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW).
Friedrich Merz could be the next German chancellor. Pic: AP
Who are the main party leaders?
Olaf Scholz, 66, from the SPD is the current chancellor of Germany.
He was given the post in December 2021 and has led the country through various crises, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
But his three-party coalition with the Greens and the FDP was fraught with argument and his popularity has fallen significantly during his time as chancellor.
While he is again running for the top job, he is expected to be voted out of office, based on polling.
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Germans protest against right-wing parties
Friedrich Merz, 69, whose opposition bloc has been ahead in the polls, is an experienced politician and a familiar face in the German conservative movement.
He was famously pushed aside by former chancellor Angela Merkel, but is now back and expected to win the top job after returning to politics and promising a break from Ms Merkel’s centrist approach.
Mr Merz drew controversy this year after his motion on migration passed with the support of the AfD – seen by some as breaking a taboo against cooperating with the far-right party. He continues to reject going into coalition with them.
He has positioned himself as someone who could get along with Donald Trump, despite previously calling out the US leader’s response to his 2020 election defeat.
Alice Weidel’s AfD have gained popularity. Pic: AP
The AfD’s leader Alice Weidel has overseen a rise in support for her party and will now lead them into the election.
The 46-year-old is an unusual figure to lead a German hard right-wing party that advocates for a “traditional family” – a gay woman with a PhD in economics, a Sri Lankan partner, two children and a home in another country – she commutes from Switzerland.
Ms Weidel will fight the election with a manifesto that follows a familiar pattern from other successful populist campaigns in Europe and beyond – contempt for mainstream politicians, anger over levels of irregular immigration, a desire to rein in the power of the European Union and dismay over the spread of so-called woke values.
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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
What are the key issues in the German elections?
Ukraine has been a key consideration in European politics for years now and these polls are no different.
All of Germany’s mainstream parties favour aid to Ukraine, but Mr Scholz has been seen as taking a more cautious tone than the conservatives, Greens and FDP. Mr Scholz, for instance, has so far refused to supply long-range Taurus missiles to Kyiv while the three other parties support sending them.
The AfD want weapons deliveries to Ukraine stopped and a resumption of good relations with Russia.
The war has forced Germany to re-evaluate its attitude towards its defence and military in a way it has not had to since the Second World War.
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Germany has changed its attitude to defence
The economy is also central to the election, in particular the issue of whether to reform Germany’s constitutionally enshrined debt brake to allow for higher public spending.
The CDU, SPD and Greens are all in favour of expanding renewable energy to reduce costs, but differ in how they would achieve that. In contrast, the AfD opposes renewable energy subsidies and advocates for unrestricted coal-fired power plant operations.
A series of violent attacks linked to foreign suspects in Germany have compounded public concerns over security and migration, leading to political parties demanding stricter measures on migration.
Both the CDU and SPD have toughened their position on the issue, while the anti-Islam, anti-migration AfD has called for borders to be closed
What are the polls saying?
Mr Merz’s conservatives have been ahead in the polls for more than two years and his bloc is at 29%, according to an INSA survey published on 8 February.
They are followed by the AfD on 21% and Mr Scholz’s SPD on 16%, with the Greens on 12% and BSW on 6%.
Despite the rise in popularity of the AfD, they are unlikely to be involved in any coalition government as all the other parties have ruled out any cooperation with them. That could mean that coalition negotiations after the elections take more time, if the AfD does indeed win a sizeable number of seats on Sunday.
How are seats in the Bundestag allocated?
Germany’s system is a bit different to the UK’s Each voter casts two votes in the Bundestag (parliament) elections – one for a candidate in their constituency and one for a political party.
The 630 seats in the Bundestag are allocated to parties based on what proportion of second votes they received.
Once each party has been awarded a number of seats matching their national vote share, their candidates are ranked from the most to the fewest number of constituency votes received in a list and it’s from this that their new Bundestag members are chosen.
The new Bundestag then elects a chancellor by majority vote.
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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