Germany's Social Democrats were set to start the process of trying to form a government after they narrowly won their first national election since 2005 to end 16 years of conservative-led rule under Angela Merkel
The centre-left Social Democrats won 25.7% of the vote, ahead of 24.1% for Merkel's CDU/CSU conservative bloc, according to provisional results. The Greens came in at 14.8% and the liberal Free Democrats were on 11.5%.The SPD's recovery marks a tentative revival for centre-left parties in parts of Europe, following the election of Democrat Joe Biden as U.S. president in 2020.
"The SPD is in first place. We won the election," Lars Klingbeil, the SPD general secretary, told ARD television, adding that the party would fight to make sure Scholz becomes the next chancellor. But Berlin's allies in Europe and beyond will probably have to wait for months before they can see how the new German government will engage on foreign issues.
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