Both the SPD and the CDU claimed an order to form the next federal government for themselves on Sunday evening. SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil said after the first prognoses for the federal election were announced: “The SPD has the government mandate. We want Olaf Scholz to become Chancellor. ”The SPD and CDU / CSU were initially on par with around 25 percent each, with slight advantages for the Social Democrats. With Federal Finance Minister Scholz as candidate for Chancellor, they were able to significantly improve their results compared to the 2017 Bundestag election; at that time they had only come to 20.5 percent. The Union, on the other hand, lost massively after 32.9 percent in 2017 and, with top candidate Armin Laschet (CDU), came to less than 30 percent in a federal election for the first time in its history.
In comparison, the Greens gained significantly (8.9 percent in 2017), but with around 15 percent they were only the third strongest force by a wide margin. According to the first forecasts, the FDP was around 11 percent (after 10.7 percent in 2017), the AfD around 11 percent (12.6 percent in 2017). The left had to tremble in the evening with around five percent to return to the Bundestag (9.2 percent 2017). For the first time since 1953, the Südschleswigsche Voters' Association (SSW) will again be represented with a mandate in the Bundestag, as the party is exempt from the five percent clause.
CDU Chancellor candidate Laschet said on Sunday evening: "This election evening is an exceptional situation." One could not be satisfied with the result. Nevertheless, Laschet also wants to try to forge a coalition. "We will do everything in our power to form a federal government under the leadership of the Union," said Laschet in the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus. Scholz spoke of a great success in the Willy Brandt House that evening. “Many citizens have ticked the SPD because they want a change.” After the election result, both the SPD and the Union, along with the Greens and FDP, would have a majority. In the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, the largest parliamentary group in each case provided the chancellor in most cases, but the other groups are free to form a chancellor majority together.
The deputy FDP chairman Wolfgang Kubicki said: “We want to participate in government. We are ready for talks. ”The preference for Jamaica is obvious, but the party is also open to others. The Free Democrats have never ruled out a traffic light alliance with the SPD and the Greens. Kubicki said on Sunday: “Tonight we're going to celebrate first.” The Greens, too, had always declared themselves ready for both options, even if they always point to greater overlaps with the Social Democrats. Her top candidate Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday evening that the country needed a renewal. “This country needs a climate government. That is the result of this federal election. ”Your co-chairman Robert Habeck said the election result was not disappointing. "We want to govern." He does not commit to a coalition,does not rule out talks with the SPD or the CDU.
CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt said in the ARD: "There are various coalition options that are now possible." He emphasized: "Yes, we are ready to talk." It had become clear, "that in this country red-red-green is not a majority Has". Regarding the poor performance of the Union parties, he said: "Troubleshooting can be done differently when."
AfD top candidate Tino Chrupalla called his party's performance a “very solid result”. He was pleased that the CDU had "finally been punished" after 16 years of Merkel. The co-leader of the Left, Dietmar Bartsch, spoke on ARD of a disappointing evening. “It is important to draw conclusions from this.” He assumes that the left will continue to be represented in parliamentary groups in the Bundestag. The party is no longer representing the interests of East Germany, even if this is its claim: "We have to ask some basic questions."
The left-wing top candidate Susanne Hennig-Welsow also said: “We have lost badly.” With a view to the future, she announced: “We will deal intensively with our mistakes.
It is clear that we made mistakes, otherwise we would not be able to achieve this result. "