Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats crashed to their worst-ever result in Berlin, failing to win an election in the German capital for the first time since 1999 as the conservative Christian Democrats surged to victory.
The CDU took 28.2% of the vote in the regional election, compared with 18% in 2021, according to preliminary results with all precincts reporting. Support for the SPD, led by Mayor Franziska Giffey, slumped to 18.4% from 21%, leaving the Social Democrats tied with the Green party, which slipped from 19% in 2021.
Although the outcome will be seen as a triumph for the Christian Democrats — and its main candidate Kai Wegner — it won’t necessarily lead to a CDU-led coalition. Wegner lacks the support of other parties he would need to lead any viable city government.