Islamabad (TDI): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday extended his heartfelt felicitations to Friedrich Merz and Germany’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc on their “impressive win” in Germany’s election.
“I look forward to working with the new government to further strengthen the Pakistan – Germany partnership,” the prime minister said in his congratulatory message.
Earlier, Germany’s conservative opposition Leader Friedrich Merz’s centre-right alliance won parliamentary elections.
Merz claimed win as exit polls showed Germany’s Center-right Christian Democratic Union ahead in the National Election, putting Merz on track to be the next Chancellor.
The far-right Alternative for Germany becomes the second-largest party, after snap polls dominated by concerns over immigration, the economy and the return of US President Donald Trump.
Merz’s Christian Democratic Union-Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) alliance secured 208 seats with 28.6% of the vote in Sunday’s election, preliminary results showed, followed by the AfD with 152 seats and 20.8% of the vote – a doubling of its result at the last election.
Read More: PM Shehbaz Receives Guard of Honour in Baku
Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-left Social Democratic Party (SDP), which had governed in a widely unpopular three-party coalition, won 120 seats, its worst result since the end of World World II.
The Greens secured 85 seats, followed by the democratic socialist Die Linke with 64 seats and left-wing populist Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht with one seat.
The pro-business Free Democratic Party, a member of the outgoing coalition that has traditionally alternated between partnering with the CDU-CSU alliance and the SDP, failed to secure a seat after falling short of the 5% threshold to enter the 630-member Bundestag.
Read More: Germany provides Euro 20 mln for afforestation in Pakistan
Germany’s election authority said that 52% of eligible voters had cast their ballots four hours before the closure of polling stations.
Germany’s electoral system rarely produces absolute majorities, and it is likely that two or more parties will form a coalition, following potentially difficult talks that will take weeks or even months before the Bundestag elects the next Chancellor.
The CDU’S party headquarters were filled with cheers and applause as the exit polls were revealed and it became clear that the opposition party was set to become the largest group after the elections.
