The parties assess the result of the European elections very differently.

This is what the CDU says:

After the Union’s victory in the European elections, CDU leader Friedrich Merz sees tailwind for the dispute with the traffic light coalition in Berlin. The result was “a complete disaster” for the parties in the federal government, he said on Monday after meetings of the CDU’s top committees in Berlin. The Greens were the big losers in the election. The Union achieved a significantly better result than in the 2021 federal election. At 30 percent, it was “at the lower limit” of what he had expected. The CDU will therefore not sit back, but this is “an incentive” to continue working.

Merz particularly pointed to the upcoming state elections in eastern Germany. The fact that the AfD became the strongest force in the east in the European elections is a major challenge for all parties. “The AfD is the party that has now benefited the most from the traffic light coalition.” Many SPD voters in particular went directly to the AfD because they were dissatisfied. The CDU is taking this as an order to pay particular attention to issues. The Union was clearly the strongest force in the European elections with 30.0 percent.

This is what the AfD says:

AfD Bundestag member Petr Bystron (number 2 on the list in the European elections and hidden in the election campaign like Maximilian Krah) said: “We are the election winners and we have won, and so have our partners in Europe.” AfD party leader Alice Weidel said at a press conference, among other things: The federal government has been pursuing policies against its own population since 2021. Three quarters of people do not want a ban on combustion engines, 80 percent are in favor of continuing to operate nuclear power plants. The Federal Republic of Germany is a wrong-way driver in terms of energy policy. “The traffic light government should clear the way for new elections.”

AfD chairman Tino Chrupalla said: “We have gained 35 to 40 percent of new voters.” In Saxony, the party has won all district councils. “All firewalls have been torn down by the voters,” he said. “Another very pleasing result is the approval among 16 to 24-year-olds, which shows us that we have functioning parents’ homes, and that ideologization in schools is not working.” He also said: “Constantly calling us Nazis – that is no longer necessary.”

This is what the Greens say:

The Greens’ poor performance in the European elections is no reason to question the traffic light coalition. “There is no need for a vote of confidence,” said co-party leader Omid Nouripour in response to a question about support for the coalition and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). They have signed a four-year contract with the SPD and FDP, which they will stick to.

In view of the AfD’s increase in votes, it is important to offer solutions now, explained Nouripour. This is especially true for the ongoing negotiations on the budget for 2025. The conclusion from the European elections should not be that the traffic light partners publicly air their dispute.

This is what the SPD says:

SPD leader Lars Klingbeil has announced consequences for the work of the governing coalition following his party’s weak result in the European elections. “Things have to change,” Klingbeil said on “NDR Info.” If a necessary pension reform is removed from the cabinet agenda three times, trust will be lost.

The party leader also criticised the “constant quarrelling” in the coalition as having contributed to the view of the SPD and the traffic light parties. Klingbeil also defended his comments in which he had called the AfD and its chairwoman Alice Weidel Nazis. The party “uses SS rhetoric”, he said. “You can’t treat them like a normal democratic party,” Klingbeil emphasised.

All results of the European elections in Germany at a glance