Anglea Merkel has resigned and her replacement Armin Laschet appears likely to not be the next Chancellor.
- Laschet heads the CDU/CSU, currently polling 24.2%
- The main opposition, SPD is on 25.8%
Note - these are unofficial numbers still.
This leaves SPD in pole position to lead negotiations to form the next government.
I am no German election psephologist so based on the assessments I see from the people who are:
- SPD’s lead over CDU/CSU is ticking higher (again ... unofficial numbers at this stage)
- SPD is projected to win 205 seats
- CDU/CSU projected to win 195
- (there are 730 seats in Germany's Bundestag)
- Potential coalition partners are Greens (projected to take 114 seats) & the FDP (91)
Merkel has been a key player in Europe for decades:
