Friedrich Merz Faces Tough Coalition Challenge After Winning German Election

(MENAFN- AzerNews) Germany's conservative election winner Friedrich Merz faced an uphill struggle to build a coalition government on Monday, a day after an election which saw a record performance by the right, Azernews reports.

Merz has warned against more paralysis in Berlin at a time US President Donald Trump is driving head-spinning change, the German economy is in recession, and society split after a polarising campaign.

In a post on X, Merz insisted Ukraine“must be part of peace negotiations” after Trump unsettled European allies by reaching out to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Europe remains firmly by Ukraine's side,” Merz said, as European leaders gathered in Kyiv to mark the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.

Speaking late Sunday, his victory dampened by a far-right surge, Merz had warned a united Europe must build up its own defences as he had“no illusions at all about what is coming out of America”.

With over 28 per cent of the vote, Merz's CDU/CSU bloc handily defeated Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens, as the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) celebrated a record of over 20 per cent.

Following a heated campaign - dominated by the flashpoint issue of immigration after a spate of deadly attacks blamed on migrants – Merz will now have to reach out to his former campaign-trail SPD foes.

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