SPD Leads in German Election Polls With 25.8% as Merkel's Bloc on Track for Worst Result Since 1949

© REUTERS / WOLFGANG RATTAYSocial Democratic Party (SPD) leader and top candidate for chancellor Olaf Scholz reacts after first exit polls for the general elections in Berlin, Germany, September 26, 2021. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader and top candidate for chancellor Olaf Scholz reacts after first exit polls for the general elections in Berlin, Germany, September 26, 2021.  REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay - Sputnik International, 1920, 26.09.2021
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The outcome of the vote will decide who will be Angela Merkel's successor as chancellor, since she is not participating in these elections, stepping down after four terms.
According to exit polls from ZDF, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) is projected to be the leading political party in Germany with 25.8% of votes, while the Christian Democratic Union / Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) bloc is currently second with 24.2%. So far, this is the worst result for the alliance since the 1949 elections.
In the meantime, the Greens are third with 14.7% of the vote, while the Free Democratic Party is fourth with 11.8%, and the right-wing AfD rounds out the top 5 with 10.1%, while Die Linke (The Left) has 5% - which is the threshold to enter the parliament.
CDU Secretary-General Paul Ziemiak expressed his disappointment with the poll results but noted that the outcome is far from clear.

"It is a neck and neck race. It will be a long election night. You can't tell who [will] pull ahead", he said, adding that a "Jamaica" coalition between the CDU/CSU, Free Democrats, and the Greens, may be possible.

© REUTERS / Michele TantussiGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel leaves the plenary hall of the lower house of Parliament, or Bundestag, during one of the last sessions before the federal elections in Berlin, Germany, on 7 September 2021.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel leaves the plenary hall of the lower house of Parliament, or Bundestag, during one of the last sessions before the federal elections in Berlin, Germany, on 7 September 2021. - Sputnik International, 1920, 26.09.2021
German Chancellor Angela Merkel leaves the plenary hall of the lower house of Parliament, or Bundestag, during one of the last sessions before the federal elections in Berlin, Germany, on 7 September 2021.
CDU leader Armin Laschet said, his party will do everything in its power "to form a Union-led federal government".
Later in the day, the FDP noted that it is open to a "Jamaica" coalition with the Christian Democrats and the Greens.
Robert Habeck, a co-leader of the German Greens, also said in a post-vote interview on Sunday that he was optimistic about his party entering the next coalition government.

"We stand a good chance of entering the government, but we failed to win the chancellorship", he told the public broadcaster ZDF.

SPD Secretary-General Lars Klingbeil, however, stated that his party "has the mandate" to form the cabinet.

"The SPD has the mandate to govern. We want Olaf Scholz to be chancellor", Klingbeil said shortly after the exit polls were published. "The SPD is back. We will celebrate tonight, and tomorrow we will think of how we can put a stable government together".

So far, the polls suggest that the CDU/CSU alliance and Die Linke will be losing part of their seats in the Bundestag, while the Greens and SPD will boost their presence in the German legislature.
The governing bloc is losing support as Merkel is leaving office because she decided not to run for a fifth consecutive term after 16 years in charge. She will remain a caretaker chancellor until a coalition is formed, and a new head of the cabinet is appointed.
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