German voters went to the polls on Sunday, September 26, to turn the long page Merkel in the most uncertain legislative ballot in their history, pitting social democrats and conservatives neck and neck.

According to the first provisional official results released Monday morning on the website of the electoral commission, the center-left of the SPD and their leader, Olaf Scholz, won 25.7% of the vote, slightly ahead of the conservative union CDU- CSU by Armin Laschet, who has a historically low score of 24.1%.

  • 12.50 pm: Moscow wants "continuity" in relations with Berlin

The Kremlin said it hoped Monday for "continuity" in its relations with Berlin, the day after parliamentary elections in Germany, followed by difficult negotiations to determine the name of Angela Merkel's successor.

"We are of course counting on continuity in our bilateral relations. We have an interest in this relationship continuing and developing even further," Russian presidency spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Saying "to follow with great attention" the electoral process in Germany, Dmitry Peskov underlined that if Moscow and Berlin were not "free from differences", the two countries understood "that the problems cannot be and should only be resolved through dialogue ".

  • 11:45 a.m .: Olaf Scholz insists on Germany's stability

The leader of the German Social Democrats, Olaf Scholz, who wants to become the next chancellor, insisted on Monday that Germany was politically "stable" despite the uncertainties linked to the coalition negotiations which are expected to be delicate.

"You should know that Germany has always had coalitions and has always been stable," said the outgoing Minister of Finance, in English, while due to close results in the legislative elections, negotiations to form a three-party coalition could last for months.

  • 11:30 am: the liberals of the FDP, inevitable "makers" of chancellor

The German liberals are offering themselves a comeback and are promising to be inescapable in the post-Merkel coalition.

But what compromise is this party, marked on the right, ready to govern with the ecologists, its "favorite adversaries"?

With 11.5% in the legislative elections on Sunday, the liberal FDP party knows that it has won much more than a fourth place.

He is, with the Greens (14.8%), the "chancellor maker" in the long negotiations to come to build a majority.

Legislative in Germany: the liberals, inevitable "makers" of chancellor?

01:26

Ecologists and liberals can decide to ally themselves with the Social Democrats (SPD), which came slightly ahead, or with the conservatives of the CDU / CSU who also claim to govern.

The two junior parties have the fate of their elders in their hands.

On the condition that they manage to overcome their own differences.

  • 10 am: Paris hopes to have a "strong" government in Berlin "quickly"

France hopes to have "quickly" a "strong" German chancellor by its side to move Europe forward during its presidency of the EU, declared the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, the day after the German legislative elections.

"We have a French interest in quickly having a strong German government in place," said Clément Beaune on France 2, while difficult negotiations will begin in Germany for the formation of a government coalition.

  • 9:35 a.m .: Olaf Scholz says he wants to form a coalition with the Greens and the Liberals of the FDP

Olaf Scholz said on Monday that he had obtained a mandate to lead the next government in Germany in the aftermath of the SPD's narrow victory in the federal elections, adding that he would seek to form a coalition with the Greens and the Liberal Democrats (FDP).

Applauded at his party's headquarters in Berlin, he ruled that voters had expressed to the conservatives of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel their wish to see them return to the opposition after 16 years in power.

"The voters spoke very clearly. They said we should form the next government," he said.

"They have strengthened three parties - the Social Democrats, the Greens and the FDP - and as a result, this is the clear mandate that the citizens of this country have given: these three should form the next government."

  • 9:09 am: which coalition to govern?

In the current configuration, several solutions are possible for a majority in the Bundestag.

The SPD could thus ally with the Greens, which came third in the poll with 14.8%, and the liberals of the FDP, a right-wing party which collected 11.5%.

Alternatively, it is the conservatives who could govern with the Greens and the Liberals of the FDP.

According to a YouGov poll released overnight Sunday to Monday, a majority of voters favor the first option.

And 43% of them believe that Olaf Scholz must become the next chancellor of Europe's largest economy.

Legislative in Germany: which coalition to govern the country?

03:52

All my support for @OlafScholz who will hopefully be the next Chancellor.

During this beautiful campaign, the SPD thwarted the forecasts thanks to an ambitious program: revaluation of the minimum wage, plan for housing, transformation of the economy in the face of the climate emergency.

- Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) September 26, 2021

"All my support for Olaf Scholz who will be, I hope, the next Chancellor", tweeted Anne Hidalgo on Sunday evening, stressing that "during this great campaign, the SPD thwarted the forecasts thanks to an ambitious program: revaluation of the salary minimum, housing plan, transformation of the economy in the face of the climate emergency ".

The Conservatives had never fallen below the 30% threshold.

This is a stinging setback for Chancellor Angela Merkel's camp as she is due to retire from politics.

As of Monday morning, the leadership of the various parties likely to enter into a future coalition will meet in Berlin and should give indications on the alliances they are considering.

The Social Democrats in the lead, according to a provisional official count.

© Federal Election Commission

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