Merz declares readiness to take responsibility for Germany

He made this remark at the CDU headquarters in Berlin after the results of the exit polls were announced, according to Ukrinform.

"We – the CDU and the Christian Social Union (CSU) – have won the 2025 federal elections... I understand the responsibility and the scale of the task ahead of us... I know it will not be easy," Merz said to loud applause, calling the evening of February 23 historic.

The future Chancellor assured that he is fully aware of the challenges facing him and his party.

He thanked his team, the leader of the CSU, Markus Söder, the Prime Minister of Bavaria, and the voters for their trust.

Guests at the party headquarters in Berlin chanted "Chancellor, Chancellor!" following Merz's speech.

Meanwhile, Olaf Scholz, at the Social Democratic Party headquarters, acknowledged that the result for his party was poor and that he also bears some responsibility for it. He congratulated the CDU/CSU bloc and its leader, Merz, who has now received the mandate to form a new government.

As reported, preliminary forecasts show that the conservative CDU/CSU bloc is leading with 29%, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) follows with 19.5%. The Social Democrats (SPD) have 16%, while the Greens have 13.5%. The Left Party unexpectedly performed well with 8.5%, while Sahra Wagenknecht's Block, which split from the Left Party, failed to cross the 5% threshold. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) garnered 4.9%, but for both of these parties, the chance to enter parliament may come from direct mandates.

For the snap elections on February 23, 59.2 million German citizens had the right to vote, with a turnout of 84%.