http://www.dw.com/en/german-election-results-disappointing-victory-for-angela-merkel-as-cdu-sinks-nationalist-afd-surges/a-40666430
German election results: Disappointing victory for Angela Merkel as CDU sinks, nationalist AfD surges
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With all 299 constituencies reporting, Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party the CSU came out ahead in Germany's national election on Sunday, with 33 percent of the vote. Rival Social Democrats (SPD) led by Martin Schulz tumbled to a mere 20.5 percent, while the Green and Left parties remained about the same as they did in 2013, each with 8.9 and 9.2 percent, respectively.
The only real success stories of the night were for the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). After failing to make the 5-percent hurdle to enter the Bundestag last time around, the FDP managed a 10.7 percent to cement its comeback. As for the populist AfD, a remarkable showing of 12.6 percent means that Germany will have a far-right party in parliament for the first time in more than half a century.
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Strongest party ((the CDU)) may be, but the future is anything but certain. Merkel has said she does not want to lead a minority government, which leaves the only viable option a three-way coalition with the Free Democrats (FDP) and Green parties — the first three-party administration since the 1950s.
The FDP and Greens have significant ideological differences to overcome if they are to rule together with the CDU in a so-called "Jamaica" coalition. While they have a similar demographic of well-educated, high-income voters, they differ drastically in matters of environmental protection and open support of private business. On top of that, most Green voters say they prefer their traditional role as a voice of opposition, especially over ruling with the conservatives.
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