5 Problems Facing Germany’s Election Winners

The Conservatives must navigate a perfect storm of forming a government, and managing immigration, a troubled economy, and the temptation to increase spending.

Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany's conservative Christian Democratic Union and his party's main candidate for chancellor, addresses supporters after the first exit polls in the German general elections were announced on TV during the electoral evening, in Berlin on Feb. 23, 2025. Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images

Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) emerged as the winner of the federal election last weekend, but the party faces major issues.

After seeing off the populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) in an election overshadowed by economic woes and a recent suspected terrorist attack in Munich, the CDU’s challenges are just beginning. It faces choppy political waters, economic woes, and tensions around immigration control, all while AfD looks on as the CDU’s major political adversary. Before all of that, however, the first challenge will be to pull together a government.

1. Creating the Government

Led by Friedrich Merz, the CDU, in a conservative alliance with the Christian Social Union, won the election, capitalizing on widespread discontent over inflation, rising energy costs, and immigration policies to get a combined 28.5 percent of the vote.