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February 24, 2025

Andrew Campbell

German conservatives won a huge victory in elections conducted on February 23. The Conservative leader, Friedrich Merz, is poised to succeed his predecessor as chancellor. Following record advances, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) finished second in the election. 

The far-right AfD nearly doubled its vote share, reaching 20.8%. Fears about immigration and security, sparked by a number of tragic incidents blamed to asylum seekers, have contributed to the vote gain. 

Merz has long been a political adversary to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merz's CDU/CSU combo received more than 28%. Merz has been decimating the Social Democrats (SPD) of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Scholz was facing a historical low of 16%.