A complete guide to the German federal election 2025

Election week is upon us. After one of the most turbulent election run-ups in recent German history, we guide you through election week, polling day and what to expect once the results are called.

When is the German general election?

Germany’s 21st federal election (Bundestagswahl), the fourth snap election in the country’s postwar history, will be held on February 23, 2025. 

When the outgoing traffic light coalition collapsed in November 2024, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Social Democratic Party) announced he would hold a confidence vote. In January, Scholz lost his confidence vote and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier confirmed that the federal election would happen sooner than planned, in February rather than September 2025.

This Sunday, voters in Germany’s 299 constituencies can cast their ballots at their local polling station between 8am and 6pm. Shortly after 6pm, an exit poll will be broadcast, indicating what share of the vote each major party is expected to receive.

Who can vote in a German federal election?

All German citizens who are over the age of 18 and have lived in the country for at least three months are eligible to vote in the 2025 federal election. People with temporary residence permits or permanent residence permits are not eligible.

German citizens living abroad are eligible to vote if they have lived in Germany for three consecutive months at any point since their 14th birthday. German citizens living abroad can find out more about voting eligibility on the Federal Returning Officer’s website.

The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) estimates that at least 59,2 million people of Germany’s 84,4 million population will be eligible to vote in this election. 

How can I decide who to vote for?

According to a poll published on February 14 by the Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion Research (IfD), 38 percent of the German electorate still haven’t decided who they will vote for.

On top of this, a FOCUS magazine poll of administrative bodies in Germany’s 16 federal states estimates that there will be more eligible, first-time voters in this German federal election than any other in the country’s postwar history.

So if you are part of either of these groups and are still unsure which political party best represents your beliefs, head to the Wahl-O-Mat (Election-O-Meter). 

The Wahl-O-Mat is a well-known interactive website, run by the German Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb), which is widely used by new and experienced voters alike in the lead-up to German elections. The site asks undecided voters their opinions on specific issues to determine which party’s manifesto best aligns with their stance. 

How does the German electoral system work?

41 different parties are vying for votes in the 2025 federal election. Each voter in Germany has two votes: one for a candidate standing in their local constituency (the Erststimme or “first vote”), and one for a party (the Zweitstimme or “second vote”).

In this Bundestagswahl, Germany’s voting system will change slightly. Until now, if a party won more constituencies with the Erststimme than the number of seats they were entitled to from their Zweitstimme winnings, they would be given “overhang seats” (Überhangmandate).

Other parties were then given “balance seats” (Ausgleichsmandate) to make sure each party’s seats matched the proportion of their Zweitstimme share. But starting with the election on February 23, “overhang seats” and “balance seats” will no longer be applied and the number of seats available in the parliament (Bundestag) will shrink from 736 to 630.

Which parties are expected to enter parliament?

While 41 parties are standing in the 2025 Bundestagswahl, a special rule in the German electoral system means that only six of these parties are likely to enter parliament in this election.

Since the end of WWII, political parties in Germany must win at least 5 percent of the vote to enter parliament; this is supposed to make it harder for extremist parties to enter the Bundestag.

As of February 17, the latest poll from the Forsa Institute, an opinion polling company in Germany, suggests the following results are likely, and the following six parties will overcome the “Fünfprozenthurde” (“5 percent hurdle”).

• Christian Democratic Union / Christian Social Union (CDU / CSU): 30 percent
• Alternative für Deutschland (AfD): 20 percent
• Social Democratic Party (SPD): 16 percent
• The Greens (Grüne): 13 percent
• The Left Party (die Linke): 7 percent
• Free Democratic Party (FDP): 5 percent

Who are the candidates for German chancellor?

In the German electoral system, voters choose a party to represent them rather than a candidate. 

However, during an election campaign parties choose a “top candidate” (Spitzenkandidat), also known as a “chancellor candidate” (Kanzlerkandidat), who acts as the party’s personality. If a party wins, their Spitzenkandidat / Kanzlerkandidat is normally the politician selected to become chancellor.

The German political parties expected to enter parliament have put forward the following candidates for the next German chancellor:

• CDU: Friedrich Merz
• AfD: Alice Weidel
• SPD: Olaf Scholz
• Die Grünen: Robert Habeck
• Die Linke: Heidi Reichinnek and Jan van Aken
• FDP: Christian Lindner

Where do the parties lie on the political spectrum?

The parties expected to enter the Bundestag represent a wide range of political sways. Here’s a brief introduction to their stances and the kind of policies we can expect them to support in government and opposition roles.

CDU / CSU

The CDU / CSU has long been a dominant force in German politics, having led the government for 47 of the 80 postwar years. The party is centre-right conservative, but under Angela Merkel’s leadership for 16 years, became more centrist and adopted a more relaxed immigration policy. The current CDU leader and man who is expected to become the new German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, had promised to steer the CDU back in a more conservative direction. 

Merz’s policy promises include tightening the dual German citizenship law, scrapping cannabis legalisation, long-term border controls and an immigration crackdown. The CDU’s colour is black.

For more information about what Merz has in store, read our article: What has the CDU promised to do if they win the German election? 

AfD

The AfD was formed in 2013 as a protest party and between 2017 and 2021 was the largest opposition party in the Bundestag. As a right-wing populist party, its policies include heavily limiting new migration to Germany, “encouraging” Syrian and Afghan residents living in Germany to return to their native countries, deporting German citizens and legal residents with a migration background, reducing aid to Ukraine and entering negotiations with Vladimir Putin.

The AfD would like to encourage more people to buy houses in Germany, rather than rent, introduce tax cuts and reverse Germany’s transition to renewable energy sources. The AfD’s colour is blue.

SPD

Germany’s oldest political party, the SPD has been leading the traffic light coalition government since the 2021 election. However, historically the party has often found itself as the junior partner in government with the CDU / CSU. Traditionally the party of workers in Germany, the SPD is close to the unions and advocates social justice. 

In the 2025 Bundestagswahl, the SPD is promising to keep and expand the Deutschlandticket, introduce free meals for children at Kita and school, raise the minimum wage to 15 euros an hour, extend Elterngeld to 18 months and continue aid to Ukraine, among other policies. The party’s colour is red. 

Die Grünen / Bündnis 90

In 2021, die Grünen entered government for the first time since 2005, serving as one-third of the now outgoing, SPD-led traffic light coalition.

Formed in 1993 from the merging of the West German party “Die Grünen" and the East German party "Bündnis 90" (Alliance 90), Germany’s Green party is primarily committed to environmental protection and social issues. Having long been a fringe party associated with hippies and left-leaning activists, the Greens have become more mainstream over the years, balancing environmentalism with a leftist agenda on taxation and social policy. 

Die Grünen’s 2025 election manifesto is less focused on environmental policies than normal. It promises to lower bureaucratic hurdles for skilled workers, digitise immigration procedures, give asylum seekers the right to work, further advance the dual citizenship law, expand renewable energy, increase the minimum wage, and tax higher earners more. The party’s colour is green.

Die Linke

One of Germany’s youngest parties, die Linke was only formed in 2007 but is considered a direct descendant of the Social Unity Party (SED) that ruled in East Germany until 1990. 

For this reason, it is typically more popular in eastern Germany, among former communists and other protest voters. It has never managed to become part of a federal government but has managed to secure seats in the Bundestag every election since 2005. 

The party’s policies centre around equality and peace. Die Linke’s 2025 election manifesto promises to introduce a nationwide rent cap, dissolve the EU border police agency Frontex, give long-term residents voting rights, lower the retirement age and increase taxes on high earners, among other policies. The party’s colour is red, but it is often shown as magenta, dark red or purple to distinguish it from the SPD.

FDP

The FDP was the third party to make up the outgoing traffic light coalition which has been in power since 2021. However, the party’s leader, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner collapsed the coalition in November and all party members followed him out of government. The party consequently fell sharply in the polls.

The FDP has been an ally of the CDU / CSU for many years - having participated in government for a total of 41 years, longer than any other party. In its 2025 manifesto, the FDP promises to introduce tax cuts, encourage property purchasing and research into technology for solving problems related to the climate crisis, encourage skilled migration, reduce bureaucracy and continue support for Ukraine. The party’s colour is yellow.

What are the big issues being discussed?

Two major issues have dominated this election campaign season in Germany, immigration and the “firewall”. This is mainly because, on January 29, Friedrich Merz brought two, non-legally binding motions to the Bundestag floor. 

Merz’s submissions came shortly after a 28-year-old Afghan asylum seeker was suspected of having stabbed two people in a park in Bavaria, including a two-year-old child who died from his wounds.

His motions suggested that Germany tighten immigration law according to a five-point plan. Crucially, while canvassing for the vote, Merz said he was willing to accept support from the AfD to pass the motions.

The AfD has strong ties to neo-Nazi groups and is currently being considered by the German high court to determine whether its policies are compatible with the German constitution and democratic law.

Germany’s democratic parties have a long-standing agreement that they will not cooperate with extremist parties, colloquially known as the “firewall” (Brandmauer). Merz’s decision shifted the Overton window on mainstream parties cooperating with the AfD.

The motions passed with support from the AfD, but Merz’s decision to overlook the Brandmauer has sparked mass protests against the far-right in the weeks since.

These events dominated the public discourse, meaning discussion of the big problems affecting people living in Germany right now has been somewhat pushed aside. 

Other urgent topics include rising rents, the housing shortage, the worker shortage, long waiting times for administrative and doctor appointments, decaying infrastructure and delays in public transport, Germany’s significant economic decline and the government’s response to wars in Palestine and Ukraine.

Who is expected to win the German election and what happens next?

The CDU is widely expected to win the Bundestagswahl with 30 percent of the vote. Despite his decision to accept support from the AfD in passing his immigration crackdown motions, Friedrich Merz has maintained that his party will not form a coalition with the AfD.

As such, the CDU is expected to choose either the SPD or the Greens as a coalition partner, with the SPD as the favoured candidate. Once the party has announced its coalition partner, the parties will begin to draw up a coalition agreement (Koalitionsvertrag).

This process can take weeks or even months, while parties push and pull over which policies to include in the agreement and on which terms. Once the terms are agreed upon, the coalition agreement will be signed and the new government can begin work. 

One of the first agenda topics is likely to be the budget since the traffic light coalition had still not agreed on a 2025 budget when it collapsed in November.

Thumb image credit: Mummert-und-Ibold / Shutterstock.com