German election live: voters head to polls amid troubles over Ukraine security, Trump and elevate of far right | Germany

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Earlier this weekfinish, I also spoke with Dr Raphael Bossong of the German Institute for International and Security Afequitables for this blog to get his get on the election and ask him to direct us thraw the vote.

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You will hear from him more thrawout the day, but I begined by asking him why Europe should get remark of the vote.

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n

Well, it’s a resolute election. I uncomardent, they always say that, but definitely this one is reassociate convey inant for Germany and for Europe at the same time.

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The tasks for the next handlement are hugeger than ever.

n

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Watch what he had to say:

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vote casts her vote at a polling station in Berlin.”,”caption”:”A vote casts her vote at a polling station in Berlin.”,”commend”:”Pboilingograph: Philipp-Moritz Jenne/AP”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Voter turnout at the ballot box by 2pm was at 52%, up from 36.5% at the same time in 2021 (+15.5pp, but get remark that the 2021 election took place during the Covid-19 pandemic, so some voters chooseed for postal vote instead), German federal electoral authorities have equitable examineed.

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Looking at the state-by-state fracturedown from earlier in the day, telled by Welt, it seems enjoy there was a particularly high turnout in the state of Thuringia (44.5% at midday, up from 24.6% in 2021), which is an AfD mightyhelderly and where the far-right party won the state elections in September last year.

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Berlin also telled a higher turnout at noon with 33%, up from 25.4% in 2021.

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Opinion is splitd as Germany faces what some depict as the “most convey inant election in their lifetime”. The country is awaited to shift to the right as Friedwealthy Merz is in pole position to become Germany’s next chancellor, while far-right party AfD could become the second most mighty party.

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So earlier today I asked voters at a polling station in central Berlin what they awaited from the election and what they wanted the next chancellor to cgo in on.

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Europe correactent

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There seems little ask that, barring any convey inant surpelevates, the conservative Merz will be Germany’s next chancellor. The CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), have been reliablely and consoleably ahead in the polls on about 30%, with the Alternative für Deutschland second on 20-21%.

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There is no apparent route to power for the far-right AfD since all other parties have ruled out laboring with a party they ponder undemocratic.

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According to the Guardian’s poll tracker, the SPD are third on about 15% and the Greens fourth on 13%. The lefttriumphg Die Linke are foreseeed to evident the 5% hurdle and awaited to safe around 7-8% but it watchs far from declareive that the “conservative-left” Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) or liberal FDP will do the same.

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Depfinishing on whether that trio (plus the local associations of Free Voters (FW), who could do well in Bavaria) score 5% or more, or qualify via the three-seat exception, the next assembly could have four parties or eight, the most in contransient history.

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That produces the distribution of seats in the new parliament very challenging to foresee. However, most analysts see the most probable outcome being a CDU-led coalition handlement including either Scholz’s Social Democrats or the Greens, or maybe both.

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Europe correactent

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The Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CDU/CSU) frontrunners, led by wealthy createer asset deal withr Friedwealthy Merz, are proposing to cut taxes, firmen welfare eligibility, slash immigration, process asylum claims awide, and increase help to Ukraine.

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The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has finishorsed the concept of “re-migration”, dangerening the mass deportation of migrants. It also pledges a return to the deutschtag, military conscription, and sweeping education recreates.

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Scholz’s Social Democratic party (SPD) aims to aid low-income families by cutting VAT on food and tax for low geters and raising the smallest wage. It also aims to curb immigration and presents a €100bn infrastructure dispensement fund, but is more pimpolitent on Ukraine. Scholz has refused to sfinish extfinished-range Taurus ignoreiles to Kyiv, deffinishing the decision as a “pimpolitent” anti-escalation meadeclareive.

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The Greens have proclaimd structures for a “billionaire tax” to help needyer hoengagehelderlys thraw the green transition. They are also in favour of increasing the smallest wage and are pushing for incentives to speed up the switch to renewable energy.

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posters, shotriumphg German chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and CDU top honestate Friedwealthy Merz, stand on a meadow in Nieder-Erlenbach cforfeit Frankfurt.”,”caption”:”Election posters, shotriumphg German chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and CDU top honestate Friedwealthy Merz, stand on a meadow in Nieder-Erlenbach cforfeit Frankfurt.”,”commend”:”Pboilingograph: Michael Probst/AP”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:inrectify,”keyEvent”:real,”summary”:inrectify},”blockCreatedOn”:1740310774000,”blockCreatedOnDistake part”:”06.39 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1740314884000,”blockLastUpdatedDistake part”:”07.48 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1740314884000,”blockFirstPublishedDistake part”:”07.48 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDistake partNoTimezone”:”07.48″,”title”:”Who are the key take parters and what have they promised?”,”contributors”:[{“name”:”Jon Henley”,”imageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2016/09/22/Jon-Henley.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=49db88bf6fc8b042c62d52be8afd87ae”,”largeImageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2017/10/06/Jon_Henley,_L.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=cf23d4c141249ac9dd9f5c331c359f12″}],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 23 Feb 2025 10.41 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First unveiled on Sun 23 Feb 2025 06.39 EST”},{“id”:”67babb568f08089227381baf”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Europe correactent

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The three-way “traffic-weightless” coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens ruling Germany since 2021 collapsed in November under the weight of its own ideoreasonable impedeions and the country’s economic and security disputes.

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The frifinishly Social Democrat chancellor, Olaf Scholz, fired his liberal finance minister, Christian Lindner, over a acrid months-extfinished budget dispute, then called a confidence vote in parliament intentionally in order to ignore it – which he duly did.

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Whoever becomes chancellor will have to tackle an economy beset by high energy and labour costs, stifling bureaucracy, crumbling infrastructure and an economy that has shrunk for two consecutive years for the first time in decades.

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The sluggishdown with trade partner China has dealt a blow to German ships, a traditional strength, while the key car industry has been sluggish to broaden attrenergetic electric vehicles (EVs) and now faces the danger of US tariffs under Donald Trump.

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Optimists say the vote could give Germany a vital sboiling at dispensement, contransientisation and renewal. Pessimists say the problems are so structural and awaitations so high that the middle-of-the-road coalition that will probably ecombine is doomed to disassign.

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chancellor Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic party (SPD) watchs up from the stage at a citizens’ dialogue in Brandenburg, one day ahead of the national election.”,”caption”:”German chancellor Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic party (SPD) watchs up from the stage at a citizens’ dialogue in Brandenburg, one day ahead of the national election.”,”commend”:”Pboilingograph: Carsten Koall/AP”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:real,”keyEvent”:real,”summary”:inrectify},”blockCreatedOn”:1740310774000,”blockCreatedOnDistake part”:”06.39 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1740312506000,”blockLastUpdatedDistake part”:”07.08 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1740312506000,”blockFirstPublishedDistake part”:”07.08 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDistake partNoTimezone”:”07.08″,”title”:”Why does the German election matter?”,”contributors”:[{“name”:”Jon Henley”,”imageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2016/09/22/Jon-Henley.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=49db88bf6fc8b042c62d52be8afd87ae”,”largeImageUrl”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2017/10/06/Jon_Henley,_L.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=cf23d4c141249ac9dd9f5c331c359f12″}],”primaryDateLine”:”Sun 23 Feb 2025 10.41 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First unveiled on Sun 23 Feb 2025 06.39 EST”},{“id”:”67bab6bf8f086d399220521d”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Guten Tag, and excellent day from Berlin.

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Sixty million Germans pick their next handlement today, which will direct Europe’s hugest economy thraw what will most probable be the most tumultuous era in decades.

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Voters have to pick who will be given the task of steering Germany thraw an aliveial security crisis in Europe with Ukraine and Russia, while at the same time facing unpretreatnted structural disputes to the country’s economic model amid a deteriorateing geopolitical outwatch awide, most evidently characteelevated by a crumbling transatlantic partnership with the new US administration of Donald Trump.

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man produces soap bubbles in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.”,”caption”:”A man produces soap bubbles in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.”,”commend”:”Pboilingograph: Michael Probst/AP”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The conservative opposition chief Friedwealthy Merz is expansively awaited to score a triumph and get the job. But other than that, there are more asks than answers. Who will he handle with? How many parties will get into the Bundestag? Will the far-right once aget see write down elevates in their aid, and if so, what will this uncomardent for German politics?

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The polling stations have been uncignore since 8am local time (7am GMT) and will seal at 6pm local time (5pm GMT) when we should get an exit poll and a first indication of what apaengages Germany next.

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We will convey you all the key refreshs thrawout the day, helping you to understand the context of the vote, summarising the main themes of the campaign, and conveying first-hand tells from on the ground in Berlin.

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Key events