AMN/ WEB DESK
Germany’s left-leaning Social Democratic Party (SPD) has won the largest share of the vote in federal election, putting them in leading position to form the country’s next coalition government. But forming of a new government will take time, as no party has majority of its own in new Parliament.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) along with their affiliated Bavarian Christian Social Union, suffered their worst general federal election result ever and were defeated by the left-leaning Social Democrats (SPD). The SPD, Germany’s oldest party, won 25.7 per cent of the vote, up five percentage points from the 2017 federal election, ahead of Merkel’s CDU/CSU (Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union) conservative bloc on 24.1 per cent, provisional results showed. The Greens came in with 14.8 per cent and the FDP won 11.5 per cent.
Olaf Scholz ’s Social Democrats (SPD) said Germany always has coalition governments and it was always stable. Angela Merkel will step down as Germany’s chancellor once a new coalition deal is agreed and her replacement is confirmed.
It is worth recalling that the newly elected Parliament must hold its inaugural session no later than 30 days after the elections which were held on 26th of this month.
There is no referee for the process of forming a new government and also there is no set time limit for it. The outgoing coalition holds the record for the longest time taken to form a government, after an attempt to form an alternative alliance collapsed. The Bundestag-elected Merkel for her fourth term on March 14, 2018 – nearly six months after German voters had their say on September 24, 2017.