German election live updates: Final poll predicts large gains for AfD days before voters cast ballots
Germany's far right AfD party looks set to make large gains when the country heads to the polls on Sunday.
The centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) look set to once again become the largest party in the Bundestag with 220 seats, allowing them to reinstall their first chancellor since Angela Merkel stepped down in 2021.
According to YouGov's final MRP poll before the election, the far-right AfD's 145 seats will surpass the 115 projected for the governing SPD, after its popularity has collapsed under chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The Greens, who partner the SPD in a coalition, are also projected to fall from their record 15 per cent vote share in 2021 to 13 per cent on Sunday.
German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the elections after Mr Scholz lost a vote of confidence in the German Bundestag on 15 January - after losing the support of his coalition when he fired finance minister Christian Lindner amid tensions over economic policy.
But the governing coalition had been falling in popularity long before the dispute within government, with the AfD having surged in federal elections in Thuringia and Saxony last September.
4 candidates want to be Germany's next chancellor. Who are they?
Four candidates are bidding to be Germany 's next leader in Sunday's election. The would-be chancellors are the incumbent, the opposition leader, the current vice chancellor and — for the first time — a leader of a far-right party.
Here's a rundown on Olaf Scholz, Freidrich Merz, Robert Habeck and Alice Weidel, the four candidates looking to become Germany's next chancellor.
4 candidates want to be Germany's next chancellor. Who are they?
Four candidates are bidding to be Germany's next leader in Sunday's election
Alex Croft21 February 2025 12:37
Germany heads to the polls with far-right surge expected
German voters will head to the polls on Sunday, with the far-right AfD party expected to surge.
The SPD and Greens, both part of the governing coalition, are likely to drop in popularity according to recent polling.
But Germany's centre-right Christian Democrats, who were led by long-serving chancellor Angela Merkel until 2021, are likely to become the largest party in parliament.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz has struggled with popularity ratings for much of his time as the German leader.
Sitting at 18 per cent according to a Infratest Dimap survey last year, his popularity ratings were some of the lowest recorded by a German leader.
It is the fourth snap election in Germany's history, after president Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolved parliament when Mr Scholz lost a vote of confidence in parliament.
21 February 2025 12:36
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Belfast Telegraph
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Scottish Sun
a day ago
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Belfast Telegraph
a day ago
- Belfast Telegraph
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