German election: CDU, SPD seek common ground

Friedrich Merz, likely future chancellor of Germany, told a press conference that "we have to try and keep the US in Europe" as President Donald Trump continued to show a lack of interest in his country's traditional allies.

He called Trump's undiplomatic public rant towards Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy a premeditated "intentional escalation" that put Europe "under immense pressure to act quickly."

"We must now show that we are in a position to act independently," he said.

Asked if he had any plans to visit the United States, Merz said that would have to wait until a new government was formed. 

Merz said it was highly unlikely his party would have a coalition agreement signed ahead of a European summit on Ukraine in Brussels on Thursday.

The neoliberal FDP suffered another setback on Sunday — with just 2.3% of the vote, it did not clear the 5% hurdle to gain seats in Hamburg's state legislature.

The news came on the heels of the FDP also failing to reach 5% during Germany's federal elections at the end of February.

For the last five years, the FDP has had a single seat in Hamburg's parliament. With 4.97% of the vote, they did not meet the minimum, however, one lawmaker won her constituency outright and was granted a seat.

Katarina Blume, the party's main candidate in Hamburg, called the result "shocking" and said there was "no way to sugarcoat that."

However, she said, "I know Hamburg is a liberal city, and the FDP will be back."

Sonja Jacobsen, head of the FDP in Hamburg, said it was time for a "realignment" of the party at both the state and federal levels.

Social Democrat leaders Lars Klingbeil and Saskia Esken were joined by Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher for a press conference to celebrate the party's victory in Hamburg and lay out its main policy priorities amid exploratory coalition talks at the national level.

Tschentscher hailed the Hamburg victory as a "strenghthening of the democratic middle," bucking the trend of seeking answers with the far right. "Hamburg is a stable, unified city," he said.

Klingbeil then moved on to what the SPD would be focusing on in negotiations with the CDU, saying the party wanted to focus on the problems affecting everyday Germans.

"Everyone has a story about the Deutsche Bahn," he said, referencing the country's notoriously delayed rail service. "Many parents are struggling to find a preschool for their children, others are struggling to find an apartment they can afford," he added, saying the SPD would seek to address these issues as part of a future government.

Esken said that the Social Democrats wanted to "bring society back together," and find common ground on issues such as "climate protection versus economic growth...security versus freedom."

Both party leaders stressed that the budget would be paramount to discussions, particularly for the investment in schools, trains, and infastructure the SPD is seeking.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that he has invited the leaders of both the SPD and CDU to take part in a special meeting on the country's Ukraine policy on Wednesday.

With the US increasingly pulling away its support for Ukraine, European leaders now see their position as more crucial than ever.

The meeting will take place in the Chancellery in Berlin, ahead of an EU-wide summit on the future of aid for Ukraine on Thursday.

CDU/CSU parliamentary leader Johann Wadephul told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper on Monday that his bloc will seek an agreement with the SPD immediately on a special fund for the military in light of the changing world security situation.

"It is clear to everyone that we need considerable financial resources not only to support Ukraine, but also to invest in our own defense and thus in the Bundeswehr," said Wadephul.

"We cannot lose time until the new Bundestag convenes," he added. "Ukraine cannot wait for weeks. The free world cannot wait for weeks."

Asked specifically if Berlin would be part of the "coalition of the willing," as outlined at a weekend summit in London, Wadephul said: "Germany has clearly committed itself to continuing to support Ukraine."

Despite outbursts from Trump and his Vice President JD Vance at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, Wadephul told public broadcaster ZDF that it was important that Friedrich Merz establishes a "good personal relationship" with the US president.

The CDU mourned late lawmaker Bernhard Vogel, who died on Monday at the age of 92. A "historically unique" state leader, as former CDU Chancellor Angela Merkel called him.

Vogel not only served as a state premier for the longest time in German history, he was the only person to lead a state in what was West Germany at the time before holding the same post in a former East German state.

He led Rhineland-Palatinate from 1976 to 1988, before moving to Thuringia in the east and serving there from 1992 to 2003.

A dedicated public servant for decades, he also held high positions at the European Parliament and at public broadcaster ZDF. His brother, Hans-Jochen Vogel, was an SPD lawmaker who served as mayor of both Berlin and Munich.

Friedrich Merz praised Vogel as a "bridge-builder," who leaves behind a "lasting legacy."

A government in Germany must represent 50% of voters. Theoretically, if a single party managed to reach that hurdle, it could govern on its own. However, that has never happened in the country's postwar history.

Instead, the party that wins the most votes usually seeks out coalition partners in order to reach that 50%. In this case, the CDU/CSU bloc vowed not to work with the far-right AfD, who came in second, leaving a coalition with SPD as the only realistic option.

The coalition of Germany's traditionally center-left and center-right parties will require weeks of negotiations to create a policy platform that satisfies both parties.

Another element of the coalition talks is deciding which party gets to take over which cabinet post. Traditionally, the candidate of the party gaining the most votes will become chancellor and the leading candidate of the junior coalition partner is often tapped to become foreign minister.

Once a "coalition contract" is approved by both parties, the leader of the senior partner — the CDU's Friedrich Merz in this case — will be invited to form a government.

The city of Hamburg will remain "in good hands" with incumbent Mayor Peter Tschentscher, Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on social media while attending a Ukraine summit in London.

Despite a drubbing in the recent federal election, the SPD emerged as the strongest party in Hamburg's state election, long a stronghold of theirs. Outgoing Chancellor Scholz is a former mayor of Hamburg.

Preliminary results put the SPD on 33% of the vote, a drop of six percentage points on their 2020 result in the city-state.

The CDU surged from 11% in the last vote to 20% to come in second. They were followed by the Greens at nearly 18%. After that came the Left at 11% and the AfD at 7.5%.

Exploratory coalition talks between the CDU, its Bavarian sister party the CSU, and the SPD are set to continue.

Despite traditionally being rivals and having governed together somewhat unhappily during former Chancellor Angela Merkel's tenure, the two parties have agreed to try and form a coalition after the CDU ruled out working with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). The CDU came first in Germany's snap election on February 23 with 28.5% of the vote and the AfD second with 20%.

The SPD, the party of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, came third with a postwar-low of 16.4%. 

CDU leader and likely future chancellor Friedrich Merz is due to give a press conference in the afternoon. Press conferences are also expected from the environmentalist Green party, which tumbled in the polls, and the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) and the SPD.

The FDP pulled out of a governing coalition with the SPD and Greens in November over a budget dispute but then failed to gain the necessary 5% of the vote to enter the Bundestag.

The Left Party, which did surprisingly well in the federal election with 8.7% of the vote, will also hold a press conference.