German Elections; A Far-Right Party Enters Parliament for the First Time in 70 Years

With the initial results of the German parliamentary elections confirmed, the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party, despite losing a significant portion of their votes, secured the most parliamentary seats, while the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) came in third. The latest results show that the Christian Democratic Union, led by Angela Merkel, received nearly 33 percent, the Social Democratic Party, led by Martin Schulz, around 21 percent, the far-right AfD 13.3 percent, the Free Democratic Party 10.5 percent, and the Green and Left parties each around 9 percent of the votes. Although the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party received the most votes, they lost 8.3 percent and 5.5 percent of their votes respectively compared to the previous election. The Christian Democratic Union's votes represent the worst electoral result for the party since 1949, and the Social Democrats have also achieved one of their worst results in history. The Christian Social Union, which operates only in Bavaria but is allied with the Christian Democratic Union, lost about 10 percent of its supporters. In contrast, this is the first time since World War II that a far-right party has entered the parliament of this country by obtaining the necessary percentage of votes. In the wealthy western German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, where Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz cars are produced, the AfD received over 12 percent of the votes, and in some areas in eastern Germany, its votes exceeded 21 percent. In addition to the far-right AfD, the Free Democratic Party, known mainly for Hans-Dietrich Genscher, a former German foreign minister, was also successful in the election and returned to parliament after a several-year absence. Hours after the results were announced in Berlin, the capital of Germany, protests against the far-right AfD took place. Initial analysis of the election results indicates that the far-right Alternative for Germany attracted about 1.2 million votes from those who had not voted before. It was previously reported that nearly three million people would participate in the German parliamentary elections for the first time. Meanwhile, over one million former supporters of the Christian Social Union also cast their votes for the right-wing party. In initial reactions to the preliminary election results, Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, stated that although we have achieved our strategic goals and are the strongest party, our policy should focus on winning back those who voted for the AfD. The Chancellor once again highlighted the importance of maintaining the European Union and defended her government's policy towards refugees. Martin Schulz, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, described the election results as bitter and harsh for his party, emphasizing that the entry of the AfD into parliament is the most bitter outcome. Mr. Schulz assured that he would fight against this right-wing party with all the resources at his disposal. The leader of the Social Democratic Party also announced that his party is not interested in continuing the grand coalition and will join the opposition. Rejecting the possibility of a coalition between the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union, and considering that none of the parties in parliament are willing to cooperate with the far-right party, the only possible coalition is the so-called 'Jamaica' coalition, named after the colors of the Jamaican flag. In the German elections on Sunday, about 61.5 million eligible German citizens were able to vote. Final statistics on the turnout of eligible voters in the Sunday elections have not yet been published, but it is expected that about 30 percent of eligible voters did not participate in the elections; a rate similar to the previous parliamentary elections in 2013. In the previous election, 71.5 percent of eligible voters went to the polls, which was about one percent more compared to the 2009 elections. In this context, a higher percentage of eligible voters participated in the German parliamentary elections.