Following the collapse of the SPD-led coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz in late 2024, a ‘snap’ election of the Bundestag will be held on 23 February 2025.
The centre-right CDU/CSU party led by Friedrich Merz, and the party of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, is confidently leading the polls.
The increasing popularity of the far-right AfD party has agitated the broad left-wing of German politics and represents a deepening concern of voters with immigration policy and the role of the European Union.
The key issues in the election are the economy and migration. Germany’s economy has contracted two years in a row and structural reform of the constitutional ‘debt brake’ has continuously failed to manifest.
Due to the nature of Germany’s electoral system which tends to produce coalition governments, a leading party may emerge on election night however the nature of the government will take weeks to firm up.
Download GovConnex's full 2025 German Election Preview to read more.
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