The Alternative for Germany party takes second place after the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union in the European Union elections

The Union won first place by a large margin in the European Union elections. The second strongest force was the Alternative for Germany party, with 15.9 percent.

The Union won the European elections in Germany by a large margin – ahead of the Alternative for Germany party, which became the second strongest force. As the returning federal official announced on her homepage on Monday morning after counting all 400 counties, the CDU and CSU combined had risen to 30.0 percent. The AfD party's percentage improved significantly to 15.9 percent.

Among the ruling coalition parties in Berlin, support for the Social Democratic Party fell to 13.9 percent, its worst result in a nationwide election, the Green Party also fell further to 11.9 percent, and the Free Democratic Party suffered slight losses of 5.2 percent. . The newly founded left-wing coalition Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) received 6.2% of the votes from the start, while the left received 2.7%. The Free Voters, Volt, Party, ÖDP, Animal Welfare Party and Family Party also won seats.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the Union's performance in the European elections. “We are excited about what you have provided,” the CDU politician said. “The strongest force, stable in difficult times – so far.” She thanked CDU leader Friedrich Merz for their cooperation in the election campaign, as well as Christian Social Union leader Markus Söder and leader of the European People's Party parliamentary group, Manfred Weber.

The Secretary-General of the Christian Democratic Union, Carsten Linnemann, described the Union as the clear winner in the European elections in Germany. “We keep moving forward,” he says on ARD. “The Chancellor's party has 14%, and we have more than double that.” “He would actually have to raise the question of confidence in the Bundestag,” says Linnemann. Things cannot continue like this. “What we are witnessing is catastrophic,” Linnemann told ZDF. “Either the traffic light must change its course or it must pave the way for new elections.” Christian Democratic Union leader Friedrich Merz called on the traffic lights to change their course. “A truly course correction now is urgently necessary for our country’s benefit; “I call on the federal government to do this in the next few days,” Mears said.

The AfD wants to restore contacts with right-wing parties

Alternative for Germany leader Tino Shrubala described his party's result as “historic.” “We achieved a great result and I think that will continue to improve as the evening progresses. So we will not give up second place today,” said Shrubala. AfD co-leader Alice Weidel spoke of a “great result”, while candidate Rene hopes Ost is in rapprochement with other right-wing parties in the European Parliament. “Tomorrow we will resume contact,” Ost told ZDF.

SPD Secretary General Kevin Kuhnert described his party's performance in the European elections as “a very bitter election result.” Kuhnert, also on ARD, said: “It is a severe defeat for us today.” Green Party leader Ricarda Lange was also disappointed. There: “This is not the ambition we went into this election with and we will work towards it together.”

Green Party leader Omid Nouripour was astonished by the success of the AfD in the European elections. “I don’t know why they were applauding at Konrad Adenauer’s house,” he said during the Green Elections event in Berlin, referring to the CDU party headquarters and initial projections. Despite her party's heavy losses, the Green Party's leading candidate in Germany and across Europe, Terje Reintke, claims to be part of the future majority in the newly elected European Parliament. “We are ready for a pro-European democratic majority,” Reintke said at the Green Party's election ceremony in Berlin.

Wagenknecht sees great potential

The party's founder, Sarah Wagenknecht, expressed that she was “happy” and “comfortable” with her coalition's performance in the European elections. “There is great potential,” Wagenknecht said Sunday evening on ARD. She now wants to expand this further in the next election.

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, the FDP's first candidate in the European elections, expressed her satisfaction with her party's results. “We have maintained the result compared to five years ago. It is really a great joy,” she tells her supporters. “The polls initially predicted that the FDP’s approval rating would fall to three percent. The fact that the percentage is now stable at five percent is good news.” According to According to ARD forecasts, the AfD is clearly the strongest force in East Germany, including Berlin (APA/DPA).