'I Bear Responsibility': Olaf Scholz After His Party's Bruising Defeat In German Elections
German Elections 2025 Results: Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) endured one of its worst results in post-war Germany, coming third behind conservative alliance and far-right AfD.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lamented a “bitter defeat" for his Social Democrats (SPD) party in Sunday’s federal election to Friedrich Merz’s conservative alliance and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The conservative CDU-CSU alliance led by Friedrich Merz won Sunday’s high-stakes election with between 28.5 and 29% of votes, as per exit polls, while AfD came second with 19.5 to 20% of votes.
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Scholz’s Social Democratic Party recorded what was likely to be their worst result in the history of Germany’s post-war democracy, managing between 16 and 16.5% of votes.
“The election result is poor and I bear responsibility," Scholz told SPD party members while congratulating conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz, whose party came out on top.
“No cooperation with the extreme right. The Social Democratic Party stands by this clear course and we hope and believe that all others will continue to show this attitude in the coming years," he added, in reference to coalition talks with the far-right AfD.
Scholz May Remain In Caretaker Role For Months
Coalition negotiations are certain to be tricky in the near future, especially after a campaign which exposed sharp divisions over irregular immigration and how to deal with the AfD in a country where far-right politics carry a particularly strong stigma due to its Nazi past.
That could leave Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has endured weeks of taunts by tech mogul Elon Musk, in a caretaker role for months, delaying urgently needed policies to revive Europe’s largest economy after two consecutive years of contraction and as companies struggle against global rivals.
It would also create a leadership vacuum in the heart of Europe even as it deals with a host of challenges, including Trump’s threat of a trade war and attempt to fast-track a ceasefire deal for Ukraine without European involvement.
Meanwhile, US President Trump called the victory of the German conservative alliance “a great day for Germany and the United States". Taking to his Truth Social platform, he said, “Much like the USA, the people of Germany got tired of the no common sense agenda, especially on energy and immigration, that has prevailed for so many years."
(with inputs from agencies)
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