German election results LIVE: AfD vows to investigate Angela Merkel for ‘breaking law

Angela Merkel secured minority victiry based
on preliminary exit polls
The far-right, anti-immigrant AfD is posed to
form the opposition
One million voters have changed camp,
dropping support for the CDU and moving to
the AfD
Angela Merkel and Martin Schulz ‘grand
coalition’ ruled out by the SPD leader
The preliminary election exit polls from Germany show
that Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU)
have come out ahead of Martin Schulz's Social
Democrats (SPD).
But Angela Merkel will now need to strike a coalition
government in a three-way alliance between the CDU/
CSU, Greens and liberal Free Democrats (FDP), after
the SPD pulled out of the grand coaliton.
The controversial AfD has vowed to initiate a
parliamentary committee to investigate Angela Merkel
for allegations of her breaking the law.
Here are all the latest live updates, polls and campaign
news as Germany elects its next government in the
federal election. (All times BST)
German President
pleads with voters to
turnout as AfD
support surges
German election
2017 results LIVE
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RELATED ARTICLES
Monday September 25
4.15am: Euro slips over uncertainty
Investment may be unsettled as a result of a Merkel's
weakened positioned and a potentially unstable three-
way coalition with the pro-business Free Democrats
(FDP) and the Greens who are untested at the
national levels.
The euro slipped in early Asian trading on Monday
trading down 0.4 percent at $1.1906, with the prospect
of months of uncertainty in Europe's biggest economy
looming.
2.00am : Coalition failure could trigger new election
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Merkel has the complex task of forming a coalition,
but said there will be a stable government by
Christmas.
Germans have dubbed her likely alliance with the FDP
and Greens as a "Jamaica coalaition".
The name comes from the combination of their party
colours – Black for Merkel's CDU, Yellow for the FDP
and Green for the Green party.
But some experts think the talks could fail between
Merkel allies the CSU and the Greens, and trigger a
fresh election.
Der Spiegel's Mathieu von Rohr tweeted: "'Jamaica
coalition' will be hard to negotiate;.
"Greens/CSU toxic couple. If 'Jamaica' fails & SDP
sticks to its decision => new election"
The Euro has slipped in early morning trading
Sunday September 24
8.03pm: John McCain congratulates Angela Merkel on
victory
US Senator John McCain tweeted his congratulations
to Angela Merkel and her CDU party.
He tweeted: “Congratulations to Angela Merkel & the
@CDU on their election victory in #Germany. The US-
German alliance is critical & must remain strong.”
7.59pm: Marine Le Pen congratulates AfD on ‘historic
revival of Europe’s people’
Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s right-wing National
Front party, tweeted her congratulations to the
German AfD.
She tweeted: “Congratulations to our allies of the
#AfD for this historic score! It is a new symbol of the
revival of the European peoples.
“A special congratulations to Franke Petry who led the
AfD at this historic score!”
7.56pm: ‘Berlin hates the AfD’ chant protesters on the
streets of Berlin
Hundreds of demonstrators took to Alexanderplatz to
protest the AfD’s success in the federal election,
outside of an AfD celebration party.
"All of Berlin hates the AfD,” the protesters chanted as
the police shield the AfD party from the protesters.
Some brawls and clashes have already broken out.
Election debate: SPD leader Martin Schulz blasted Mrs
Merkel throughout the debate
7.49pm: Angela Merkel addresses AfD concerns about
number of migrants in Germany
The German Chancellor said: “I see plenty of people
on the streets but I can’t distinguish which of them
have a German citizenship or don’t, whether they have
an ethnic background or not.
“I think that you have said that some of these people
should have been sent to Anatolia. That’s come from
your ranks.
“I think we have a problem here. I think we have tried
to make it clear how we understand our constitution.
“We want to have a discussion that is going to be
though.”
7.40pm: Angela Merkel admits responsibility for the
migrant crisis – but denies breaking the law
“I am the chancellor of Germany, and therefore I am
always responsible, and I am not trying to escape this
responsibility to any degree,” said Mrs Merkel.
“In recent weeks we have recapitulated what took
place in Autumn 2015 and I will stick to my positions
that were discussed – having water cannons on the
German border was just not right.
“It is also however also right that we haven’t managed
to fully get rid of the concerns that people have. There
are concerns that people have about integration, illicit
migration. These are things we need to sort out.
“External border protection isn’t where it needs to be
and we cannot say that we’ve managed to combat all
of the cause that lead to people fleeing their homes.
“And as I have said, there is still much that needs to
be done.
“However all of the decisions made in September
2015, went through the European Court of Justice and
conformed with all of the law, and the Supreme
Constitutional Court has also looked at all of these
decisions – so these accusations that we did not
conform with the law are simply wrong.
Election debate: Angela Merkel accepted some
responsibility for the migration crisis
7.30pm: ’Angela Merkel will do anything to stay in
power’ blasts Schulz
SPD leader Martin Schulz continues his offensive
against Mrs Merkel, attacking her theoretical coalition
in the Bundestag.
“Mrs Merkel will make any concession to stay in
power,” he said.
“Somebody called her a ‘hoover of ideas’. She just
sucks up the people’s ideas.
“I believe that our job in Germany is to ensure that
there is that confrontation that this country needs
desperately. Those on the right and on the left of
democracy need to give citizens a plan for the future.
“Mrs Merkel hasn’t done it. We have a plan.”
7.22pm: Martin Shultz blasts Angela Merkel for
shocking election results
The SPD leader said: “We are a strong bastion against
the enemies of democracy who now sit in the
Bundestag, and I believe that Mrs Merkel ran an
election that was scandalous – refusing to enter a
confrontation with the democratic left party and right
parties.
“This refusal to make a clear statement about her
policies created a vacuum which was filled by the
AfD.
“I belive that they’ve paid the price. They’re going to
go away and think about what kind of future is
possible.”
7.15pm: Party leader debate starts in Berlin
German elections: Party leaders have gathered for a
debate on the future of Germany
7.12pm: Anti-AfD protests erupt in Berlin over shock
right-wing victory
Shocked civilians and left-wing voters have gathered
on the streets of Berlin to protest the AfD’s entrance
into the Bundestag.
According to Mathieu von Rohr, hundreds of protesters
near the AfD election party in Berlin are screaming:
"All of Berlin hates the AfD.”
6.51pm: Election results prove that the EU needs to
‘wake-up’
Deputy editor of Brexit Central, Darren Grimes,
tweeted: “Thanks to the makeup of the German
coalition, Juncker’s integrationist plans won’t be going
ahead. Certainly not plain sailing for the EU.
“The German election should be a wake-up call for the
EU. The electorate isn’t happy and ‘more Europe’ isn’t
the solution. Will they listen?
6.42pm: Germany’s leadership in the EU could take a
hit over poor election results
Georgi Gotev, senior editor of EurActiv.com, tweeted:
“My short analysis: With Jamaica coalition, Germany
can no longer afford the luxury of EU leadership.”
6.38pm: ‘Coalition will be difficult’ says CDU’s former
Minister of the Interior
Thomas de Maizière, has expressed his disappointment
in the election results, saying his party will need to
carefully examine its next steps.
He said: “We would have hoped for more, but numbers
obviously went down in the last couple weeks. We
need to analyse why the big parties lost votes.
“Will a coalition with the Greens as part of Jamaican
coalition be possible? It will be difficult.
“We will carefully negotiate, but it will be difficult.”
Exit polls: The CDU came out as the biggest loser in
the exit poll projections
6.30pm: AfD boss vows ‘change’ in government over
the next four years
AfD boss Frauke Petry said that the success in the
election was an incentive to to prepare for a "change
of government for 2021", she said on MDR television
She underlined that the CDU had "lost drastically, but
not enough when looking at the disastrously wrongly
control of this country”.
6.24pm: Latest exit polls announced
CDU – 33.1 per cent
SPD – 20.4 per cent
Left Party – 8.9 per cent
Greens – 9.3 per cent
FDP – 10.4 per cent
AfD – 13.2 per cent
Others – 4.7 per cent
The CDU/CSU has lost 8.4 points in the election, with
most of the lost voters shifting to the right-wing AfD.
The AfD meanwhile has seen a strong 8.5 point growth
in the polls. The anti-immigrant party is now looking to
hold 87 seats in the Bundestag.
Angela Merkel can hope to keep around 219 seats,
with the SPD in the second majority with 135 seats.
Election results: The AfD could hold onto 87 seats in
parliament, based on exit polls
6.03pm: Alice Weidel vows to ‘scrutinise’ Angela
Merkel with parliamentary committee
The leader of the right-wing AfD party has vowed to
launch a special committee that will investigate
allegations of Angela Merkel breaking the law.
She said: "We are going to initiate an investigation
committee for Angela Merkel, which will look into the
legal crimes of this woman."
6pm: AfD: ‘Thank you for the wonderful election
result’
Alice Weidel, AfD leader, said: “We really got the
election results tonight. Now the voters have given us
a mandate and we intend to use it with all due
humility.
“Millions of voters have given us their trust for
constructive opposition in the Bundestag and we will
deliver.”
5.55pm: Coalition with the CDU is up to the new
Chancellor says Greens leader
Winfried Kretschmann, leader of the Greens, said that
he is happy with the election results but the possibility
of a coalition with the CDU is not up to him.
The Greens leader said: Not up to us, it is up to the
old and new chancellor if we are offered talks we will
take them seriously.
“An alliance with macron will be important and future
of Europe.
“You always have to compromise in any coalition.”
Election results: Angela Merkel thanked for the
election results and support
5.53pm: Angela Merkel: ‘We would have liked a better
result’
Speaking at the CDU headquarters, Mrs Merkel said:
“We got were we wanted to be. We are the strongest
power. It is now down to us to form a government and
against us no government can be formed.”
5.50pm: AfD 'gains' 88 MPs in German parliament
The latest preliminary forecasts expect the
controversial AfD to gain 88 seats in the Bundestag.
Simon Tilford of the Centre for European Reform
tweeted: “13.5% for AFD grim, but its high point given
refugee inflows falling back? Hopefully SPD result will
force it to be more social-democratic.”
In East Germany, the AfD came out as the second
strongest party, according to the latest exit polls, with
21.5 per cent of the vote – compared to the CDU’s
26.5 per cent.
5.40pm: Martin Schulz vows to go into the Bundestag
as an opposition party
5.36pm: Martin Schulz says SDP 'did not achieve
victory'
Appearing at the SDP headquarters, Mr Schultz said:
“Comrades good evening. Friends of social democracy,
thank you for the courage, the strength that you have
expressed just now.
“Today is a bitter day, a difficult day for social
democracy. I don’t want to mince my words here, we
did not achieve our electoral victory.
“But I want to thank you for the wonderful campaign
that we’ve led here. There were so many who
supported us and those who voted for us are less than
we had hoped.
“Rest assured that we will use the votes that we have
had to fight for our principles, to fight for our values,
tolerance and respect.”
Mr Schulz also expressed his shock at the number of
seats the AfD gained in the Bundestag.
5.30pm: AfD gains a million voters in CDU members
At least one million former CDU voters and previous
non-voters have shifted towards the ant-immigrant AfD
in the election.
Volker Kauer of the CDU admitted that this is
something that the party will need to look into.
5.27pm: SDP may rule out another grand coalition
SPD official Thomas Oppermann has said that the
Social-Democrats should rule out grand coalition with
Mrs Merkel’s CDU again.
The only feasible option left for the Conservatives, is
to strike a 'Jamaica' coalition with the Greens and
FDP.
A Jamaica coalition would give the three parties 348
seats in the Bundestag
5.20pm: Election results are a slap in the face for
Angela Merkel and the grand coalition
The shockingly low voter support for the CDU/CSU has
come as a surprise to some, who expected Angela
Merkel’s party to stay strong.
Robin Gramer, Robbie Gramer, a national security
reporter at Foreign Policy tweeted: “Breaking: Merkel
wins German elections. Overshadowed by: For the first
time since 1945, a far right party will be in German
parliament according to exit polls. Far right AfD party
gets 13.5%. Many centrists had hoped for a 8-10%
maximum.
“‘’This is a slap in the face’ one German campaign
operative tells me.
“While Merkel's party wins (CDU-CSU union), it wins
with the lowest numbers in decades. This election is a
victory for the 3rd parties.”
“CDU campaigner tells me what an SPD campaigner
told me earlier: ‘This is horrible’”.
German elections: The shocking results have stunned
SDP voters in Germany
5.10pm: Exit polls prove voters are ‘frustrated’ with
the grand coalition
Melinda Crane, the chief political correspondent at
DW, expelled that the shockingly poor results for the
CDU, prove that voters are fed up with the status quo.
“Yes they like the chancellor personally, yes they know
that she is esteemed abroad and that pleases them as
well.
“But there is a feeling that the country is adrift, that
its’ not really preparing for a future that will hold a lot
of challenges. Demographic challenges. Economic
challenges.
“As you know and I think it’s been mentioned,
investment has been very low under a Conservative led
government.
“So I think that there is a general sense of unease
even among mainstream voters, and if you look at
these results, it’s quite interesting to see that all of
the smaller parties have done better.
"All of them across the board, meaning people are
migrating away from this two big mainstream parties
that used to be called the ‘Volksparty’ in Germany –
the parties of the masses.
“They are shrinking to a size, particularly the SPD,
where they no longer qualify for that term. That’s a
historic turning point for the SPD.
5pm: Exit polls are out – CDU 'wins' 32.5 points
CDU – 32.5 per cent
SPD – 20.0 per cent
Left Party – 9.0 per cent
Greens – 9.5 per cent
FDP – 10.5 per cent
AfD – 13.5 per cent
Others – 5.0 per cent
The first round of exit polls suggest that Angela
Merkel’s CDU/CSU won a minority victory.
If the result stay on course after the ballot count, Mrs
Merkel will need to find allies that will help her strike a
coalition.
“Greens with a strong result, will help leadership to
convince members of a Jamaica coalition,” said
Christian Odendahl, of the Centre for European
Reform.
“This is a disaster for the #SPD. Cannot see them
joining another grand coalition with Merkel, members
will revolt.”
4.53pm: Leaked exit polls suggest AfD scored 15 per
cent of the vote
Robbie Gramer, a national security reporter at Foreign
Policy, claims t have seen leaked exit polls that gave
the AfD 15 per cent in the polls.
He said in a tweet: "Some leaked poll numbers I saw
put Germany's far-right AfD party above 15%, which is
astonishing. (Caveat these are early exit poll
numbers)”.
The main worry in the run up to the election was that
AfD voters would admit to their choice of party in the
opinion polls, skewing the result before election day.
4.45pm: German left heading for ‘crushing defeat’
Ron Nehring, a former US National Spokesman who is
currently at the CDU headquarters in Germany, thinks
that the German left will be extremely disappointed
with the election results.
He said in a tweet: “I get the sense the left in
Germany is heading to a crushing defeat, extremely
poor showing in today's election. First results in 20
mins.
"In Jan, Merkel's party tied w/ socialists, 32-32.
Tonight, she'll roar back into office as SPD and Greens
collapse."
4.40pm: A 5 per cent AfD victory could be enough of a
success for right-wing party
Mathieu von Rohr, deputy head of the Der Spiegel
Foreign desk, thinks that entering the Bundestag will
be enough of a victory to cause and upset in Germany.
He tweeted: “What should be seen as a success for
AfD? Need 5% to enter Bundestag. Polls predict 10%+
which would be big. 15%+ would be an upset.”
German elections: The AfD is looking to become the
third strongest party in the Bundestag
4.30pm: Exit polls out in just 30 minutes
The first round of exit polls are expected to be
released in just 30 minutes.
The final ballot count will not be out until 2am, but the
exit polls are known to be extremely reliable in the
German elections.
By 5.30pm, a mix of exit polls and preliminary ballot
counts should give a clearer picture of the results.
FIND OUT HOW TO WATCH THE ELECTION RESULTS
LIVE ONLINE
4.20pm: AfD could be in a position of power if it
enters the Bundestag
Melinda Crane, the chief political correspondent at
DW, explained how the AfD ganging parliamentary
seats would put it in a position of power.
“One of the things we’re going to be watching is not
only the percentage of seats, but also will the AfD
then come in as a strong third party, because that
means potentially if the two main parties – the SPD,
the Social Democrats and the CDU and Angela
Merkel’s Conservatives – were once again o govern in
a grand coalition, the AfD would become the leader of
the opposition.
“That carries a number of perquisites, including for
example the right for open debate in the Bundestag
when it’s about the budget.
“That is a powerful position and it will be a powerful
platform for discourse that may trouble many German
citizens.
“As you know, we’ve seen the threshold on what is
acceptable political discourse here in Germany.”

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