The conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party has won the German federal elections, with its leader Friedrich Merz set to become chancellor if the party can strike a coalition agreement with other parties.
The ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD), whose leader Olaf Scholz has been chancellor since 2021 as part of a coalition with the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), posted its worst result at a post-war German election, according to Sky News.
Scholz is likely to be replaced by Merz as chancellor, but the SPD could enter coalition with the CDU as a junior partner, giving them a continued role to play in government. The FDP crashed out of parliament, while the leftist Die Linke made an unexpected comeback.
As reported by DW, Merz has ruled out working with the Alternative for Germany (AfD), who placed second at the election with almost 21% of the vote. He has, however, expressed openness to working with a variety of other parties in forming the next German government.
‘Independence’ from the US
Merz has called for “independence from the US step-by-step” over the weekend, arguing that to "strengthen Europe as quickly as possible” would be his “absolute priority” in remarks noted by Politico.
He added:
“I never thought I would have to say something like this on a television programme.
“After Donald Trump's statements last week at the latest, it is clear that the Americans, at least this part of the Americans, this administration, are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe.”
He has, however, told DW that “we shouldn’t enter into a trade war now” with the US, noting that threats of tariffs on US goods during president Trump’s first administration had averted some of the president’s previous duty plans on EU goods.
Trump himself has called the result a “great day for Germany”.
Spain on China
In a further reflection of European powers looking to diverge from US thinking, Spain has called for the EU to “take its own decisions” on its response to China.
Speaking to the FT, Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares said that “we have to decide when China can be a partner and when China is a competitor”, rather than ceding decision-making on relations with the country to the US.
“We can have certainly a dialogue with the country that I think is our natural ally, the US. But Europe must take its own decisions,” he said.
“Let’s not forget that China, because of their demography, their size, [being] a permanent member of the [UN] Security Council, is also indispensable for things as vital as climate change, for instance. So we need to have an engagement.”
It follows efforts by Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez to draw more investment from China. Sánchez opposed the EU’s imposition of 45% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in 2024, saying the policy should be “reconsidered” as Spain abstained from a vote.
European views on China have been more mixed, with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen telling the World Economic Forum in Switzerland last month that there was a risk of a new “China shock” to world economies as a result of the country’s subsidised exports.
