Big German parties lose ground to smaller groups

From the moment the first exit polls emerged it was clear the Christian Democrats would carry the day. They were on course to capture around a third of the vote.

The night’s big losers were the Social Democrats, some 10 points behind the centre-right, and heading out of government. The liberal FDP were forecast to capture just under 15 percent of the vote. It was a strong showing and enough to make up for the drop in support for the CDU, to ensure a new centre-right coalition was mathematically viable. The Greens and the Left also had reason to celebrate. Both their results were better than in the previous election in 2005, reflecting a drift in support from the big parties.

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