AFD was the most voted in all states of the former socialist country; The Centro-right CDU consolidated Victoria in the former Western Germany
The AFD (alternative to Germany, right) came out victorious in the states that formed the former East Germany (1949-1990) in the parliamentary election held on Sunday (23.FEV.2025). It was a positive turn to the 2021 election when the subtitle had obtained a majority only in Sachsen and Thüringen.
The CDU (Christian Democratic Union), Caption of the Conservative came out victorious in 8 of the 16 German states. The party obtained 28,6% of the votes in the parliamentary elections of 2025. It achieved the best result among the states of the former Western Germany, which followed the capitalist model after World War II.
The capital, Berlin, was divided: the old eastern part voted for the leftist party, while the western side gave more votes to the CDU. The party of current chancellor Olaf Scholz, the SDP (Social Democratic Party, Center left) was victorious only in the city-states of Bremen and Hamburg.
It was a significant change for Scholz’s party regarding the election in which it was elected in 2021. 4 years ago, SDP won in 10 states and in the ochstay of Berlin. Bremen and Hamburg maintained the preference for the center-left party.
Merz declared his party victory in the election on Sunday night (23.FEV). The CDU/CSU coalition is formed by the Christian Democratic Union-partner of former Chancellor Angela Merkel (2005-2021)-and the social-Christian union (Bavaria’s Acronym Arm).
The group won 208 of the 630 chairs of Parliament, which did not give it absolute majority of 316 seats. Now, Merz with Scholz’s party. SDP was in 3rd place overall in the election, with 16,4% of the votes and 120 chairs. The conservative is against an alliance with AFD.
According to Merz, he should meet with the SPD leadership to argue with the still Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the coming days. The government can be installed to Easter, he said, emphasizing the urgency of restoring stability after.
Merz has established 3 main priorities for the next government: to reinforce European defense in the light of change in foreign policy, addressing the challenges of migration, and protecting Germany’s industrial base.
Who is Friedrich Merz
Merz entered the CDU in 1972, still in school, and became president of the Youth Union of CDU years later.
In 2000, he was elected president of the CDU/CSU Alliance for the first time. Lawyer for training, Merz worked as a judge and then became a senior lawyer at Mayer Brown’s Düsseldorf’s office until the end of 2021, when he assumed the CDU presidency.
He has also held high positions in companies such as Blackrock Germany and HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt, as well as participating in the advice of Ey Germany, Borussia Dortmund and Deutsche Börse.
Government plan
Friedrich Merz argues to reduce the percentage of income tax income tax, as well as lower taxes and contributions to ensure higher salaries, jobs, economic growth and improvements in social programs. The candidate also proposes the increase in transportation allowance and the payment of overtime for full -time jobs.
Germany is a country with high taxes for companies, such as Körschaftsteuer, corporate income tax charged to all national and foreign companies based in the country. Merz’s proposal for the economy is a corporate tax rate of a maximum of 25% of retained profits, the simplification of tax laws and support for free trade.
Regarding climatic and environmental protection, the Merz government plan aims to implement emissions trade, use sustainable forms and protect the environment with a focus on ensuring the quality of drinking water, mineral water, medicinal water and underground water resources , especially in regions affected by drought.
The CDU leader also has proposals for agricultural production in the country, such as the regulation of new technologies, the use of chemical-synthetic pesticides and the sustainable forest management.
The investment in Germany’s internal security is another point of Merz’s plan. He plans to maintain defense spending on 2% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), as the NTA (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). If he wins the election, Merz intends to renew the Armed Forces and reinforce support for Ukraine, as he said in the February 17 debate. According to him, Germany “is on the side of the Ukrainian people.”
Other suggestions of the candidate include the removal of family reunification for people with subsidiary protection, deportations of immigrants, revocation of passports to naturalized Germans convicted of crimes and reduction of asylum programs.
