Germany’s center-left Social Democrats (SPD) won the country’s federal elections after narrowly beating outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party.
According to provisional results, the SPD snatched 25.7% of the vote, ahead of the conservatives’ 24,1%. The Greens came in at 14,8% and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) were at 11,5%.
SPD leader Olaf Scholz said on Monday that his party would start the process of forging a three-way coalition to lead the government for the first time since 2005.
Scholz said he aimed to build an alliance with Germany’s Green Party and the liberal (FDP), saying that the Germans had voted to send the conservatives into opposition.
“The voters have very clearly spoken… They strengthened three parties – the Social Democrats, Greens and FDP – and therefore that is the clear mandate the citizens of this country have given – these three should form the next government,’ Scholts told his cheering supporters at SPD headquarters in Berlin.
Scholz said on Sunday that he hoped to agree on a coalition before Christmas, but conservative rival Armin Laschet said he could still try to form a government, despite the conservatives’ worst-ever election result.
Merkel, who chose not to run for a fifth mandate as chancellor, remains Germany’s most popular politician.
However, her legacy risks being tarnished after the conservatives’ poor results in Sunday’s election, which saw the bloc fall below 30% for the first time in its history.
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