German Election 2025: Right-wing parties take over parliament with record high turnout

Germany shifts to the right after reaching a voter turnout of 82.5% in the 2025 federal election, a record high since the unification of Germany. 

On Sunday, voters elected a new Bundestag, the lower house of parliament.

The Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, commonly known as CDU/CSU, a centre-right political alliance, top the election result taking 208 seats with 28.5% of the votes. 

The far-right nationalist party, Alternative for Germany, or AfD, comes in second with a record 20.8% votes. It now holds 152 seats, according to The Federal Returning Officer.

Friedrich Merz, the chancellor candidate of CDU/CSU, is set to become Germany's next leader,and will put together a governing coalition.

Prior to the election, CDU/CSU was the largest opposition party in the Bundestag. CDU represented  the alliance in 15 of the 16 states, while CSU only contested in the southeastern state of Bavaria.

Mark Schneider, CEO of a startup company and a member of CDU, said he believes the party can form a strong government that is able to make clear decisions.

“Germany is facing a downshift in the economy. We are not in the best moment,” Schneider said. “Europe has a lot of challenges, including the war in Ukraine. But the last three years of the government were very weak.”

He said he would prefer not to have a coalition government, but he suggested the CDU should ally with the Free Democratic Party, another centre-right political party. 

FDP lost all of its current 92 seats with only 4.33% of the votes, and failed to meet the 5% threshold needed for parliamentary representation. 

CDU/CSU’s election campaign promised a crackdown on immigration and a deregulation of Germany’s ailing economy. The country’s GDP has decreased for two consecutive years, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

As Germany shifts to the right, some left-wing supporters expressed concern towards the possibility of a right-leaning coalition government, resulting in deterioration of human rights in Germany.

While CDU members celebrated their victory, an anti-right demonstration was held outside the party’s headquarters. 

“Say it Loud! Say it clear! Refugees are welcome here,” protesters shouted. 

Sophie, a college student who participated in the protest and refused to reveal her surname due to privacy concerns, said she is worried that  CDU/CSU would form a governing coalition to work with AfD.

“CDU is completely against immigration and abortion. They are against many things that we would stand for,” Sophie said. “I hope they will have a coalition with the more left-leaning parties and not with AfD. It would be a complete disaster to work with AfD.”

There has been a consensus among Germany's main political parties that the far and extreme right must never be allowed in government again since World War II. This consensus is known as the "firewall."

But CDU is accused for breaching the firewall in January when Merz put forward a motion for strict immigration laws, which passed with the support of AfD.

Merz introduced a five-point amendment in a proposed immigration law to parliament in January, which includes prohibiting illegal refugees from entering Germany and speeding up the process of refugee deportations. Centre-right CDU/CSU, far-right AfD and other right-wing parties stood on the same line favouring the motion.

Although the amendment was approved by the Bundestag on Jan. 29, the final bill was narrowly rejected two days later with 349 opposing and 338 in favour. Still, some 160,000 people gathered on Feb. 2 in Berlin to protest against the right-wing parties, according to police.

As the biggest economy and the most populous member state of the European Union, Germany’s incumbent chancellor Olaf Scholz called the snap election following the collapse of the coalition between his party, the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the FDP back in late 2024. 

Scholz dismissed Christian Lindler, the leader of FDP, from the position of Finance Minister, turning the cabinet into a minority government.