Die Bundestagswahl vom 23. Februar 2025: Atempause in einer politisierten Gesellschaft

The federal election on February 23, 2025, was marked by high polarization, which focused mainly on the issue of migration, leading to a record turnout of 82.5 percent. The Union (CDU/CSU) achieved 28.5 percent, but fell short of expectations, while the AfD rose to become the second strongest party for the first time with 20.8 percent, doubling its vote share. The SPD suffered its worst result since 1890 with 16.4 percent, reflecting the unpopularity of the traffic light coalition, which lost a total of 19.5 percentage points. The Left, on the other hand, increased its share to 8.8 percent, thanks to a successful reorientation. The election resulted in a new political landscape in which the major parties, the CDU/CSU and the SPD, were only able to form a narrow majority, while the FDP and the BSW failed to clear the five percent threshold. The new government faces major challenges: it must overcome mistrust and make painful compromises in order to govern stably. At the same time, it faces major financial challenges, for which an unprecedented debt package was put in place by the old Bundestag.