Friedrich Merz, winner of the German elections, will seek to form a coalition with the Social Democrats

German conservative Friedrich Merz shook hands on Monday with the defeated Social Democratic Party (SPD), which until now held the chancellorship with Olaf Scholz.

Despite coming in first place in Sunday's parliamentary elections, the 28% obtained by Merz's bloc (CDU/CSU) is insufficient to lead the country alone. After choosing the SPD as a government partner, negotiations begin to lay down the outlines of the pact to form a coalition "before Easter", i.e. on January 20.

If the talks are successful, the SPD will be able to remain in government despite coming in third with 17% of the vote. A 9% drop at the polls.

The opposite will happen, on the other hand, with AfD (Alternative for Germany): although it came second with 20%, doubling its 2021 figures, Merz announced that it will dispense with its representatives. He will thus maintain the cordon sanitaire, as the cross-party pact to leave the right-wing formation out of any coalition is known.

“None of us are talking about closing borders”

"They can't exclude millions of voters. It is undemocratic. The cordon sanitaire must go," AfD leader Alice Weidel reacted. Although the politician had said she was willing to form governance alliances, she warned that marginalizing her will only increase her vote share in the next election.

On social media, Weidel accused Merz of "throwing overboard all her election promises since Day 1," including that of tightening borders, an AfD banner that the CDU/CSU made its own during the campaign.

"I want to say it once again very clearly: none of us is talking about closing borders. Although this was stated at times during the election campaign. None of us wants to close borders," Merz said after his triumph, picked up by The Gazette.