“I’ll be darned,” the US leader said after hearing that Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats were set to win the Sunday election, potentially making him the next chancellor. “They are solid,” he added, referring to the projected winning party.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) took more than 25% of the vote, according to preliminary results, running slightly ahead of the alliance of Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).
With neither party scoring a landslide victory, the future ruling coalition will likely include at least three members. The candidate from CDU/CSU is Armin Laschet, picked as successor to Merkel. The outgoing chancellor became one of the longest-serving leaders in German history, before choosing to retire.
Biden spent last weekend at Camp David, preparing for this week’s fight to pass his social and economic agenda in Congress. Apparently, domestic issues drew his attention away from events in other countries, since he said he “didn’t hear” about the outcome of the landmark poll in Germany when asked by the press.
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