German Elections: Olaf Scholz concedes defeat, Conservatives lead, Friedrich Merz secures victory

Germany‘s conservative opposition leader, Friedrich Merz, won the national election on Sunday, but the outcome was far from resounding. The projected results indicated that his Union bloc garnered around 28.5% of the vote, a modest lead that leaves uncertainty about his ability to form a stable government. Chancellor Olaf Scholz conceded defeat as his centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) faced their worst postwar election result, receiving just over 16% of the vote. This marks a significant decline from previous years and underscores growing dissatisfaction with his administration. Merz has expressed his intention to form a coalition government by Easter, but this could prove difficult given the fragmented results.