If you’re more familiar with the House of Parliament over the Bundestag, and you’re not quite sure who’s who in German politics, then look no further, this article is for you – a guide detailing the Germany 2025 election explained for UK readers.
Germany 2025 election explained for UK readers
What’s the Bundestag?
To start this German election guide for British readers we must first familiarise you with the term Bundestag. It is the name of Germany’s parliament. In recent months the country introduced electoral reforms for the 2025 election to reduce the size of the Bundestag. There are now only 630 seats up for grabs – a move that massively benefits larger political parties in Germany, such as CDU/CSU, and SPD over the smaller parties such as Die Linke and Volt Germany.
German parties compared to British parties
German and British political parties are not too dissimilar from each other, in fact, the only real difference between our politics is the way we vote – with Britain using first-past-the-post compared to Germany’s partial proportional representation.
CDU/CSU (Conservatives)
This is Germany’s conservative party. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) form the centre-right bloc in German politics.
Much like Britain’s Tories, they believe in strong law and order, upholding traditional values and fiscal responsibility.
When discussing Britain’s Conservative Party it’s perhaps ideal to split the party into the pre-Boris Johnson era and the post-Boris Johnson era. Traditionally, the Tories – similar to the CDU/CSU – have made a play for the political middle ground on most social issues. In the post-Johnson era, the Tory party has eeked closer to the right on many social issues, leaving the centre ground vacant.
The upcoming election will likely see the CDU/CSU take power, and under their leader Friedrich Merz, they have flirted more with right-wing talking points and attempted to win over votes from the right-wing party AfD. This political play is eerily similar to the current British Conservatives attempting to walk the line between traditional party values and wanting to tap into the rise of the far right.
Unlike modern British conservatives, CDU/CSU promote a strong welfare state and are robust supporters of the EU.
They both appeal to a broad base of conservative, middle class and business-centred voters.
SPD (Labour Party)
The SPD – social democrats – are closest in ideology to Britain’s Labour Party. Like Labour, it’s one of the oldest and most established political parties, and in a modern context, both are centre-left parties.
Its history is rooted in the Labour movement and like its British counterpart it traditionally advocates for a balanced market economy, strong social welfare systems, progressive taxation and the environment.
Since Keir Starmer took over from Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader, the British Labour Party has crawled back to the centre ground leaving a gap between Corybyn’s far-left and party. The Labour Party is now closer to a traditional Conservative Party (centre-right but progressive on some social issues).
Both favour progressive taxation, social welfare, and public services investment, though they have both embraced more centrist economic policies over time.
They both align with the centre-left bloc of the EU, though Labour’s position on the EU has been compacted by Brexit.
There are a few key differences between the parties under their current stewardship.
Labour under Starmer has made efforts to appeal to businesses drawing closer comparisons to Britain’s Tories.
Labour has proposed renationalising key industries (e.g., railways, energy), while the SPD has largely accepted a regulated market economy with a strong social safety net rather than full renationalisation.
Amid growing global tensions, in Europe and further afield, defence is another key difference between these parties. Labour has historically been more Atlanticist (closer to the US), while the SPD has been more cautious of military intervention (e.g., reluctance in sending arms to Ukraine, and Nord Stream energy ties with Russia).
Free Democrats (Liberal Democrats)
Germany’s Free Democrats (FDP) are closest to Britain’s Liberal Democrats. The parties are two sides of the same coin, both parties have traditionally offered voters a centrist “third way” in post-war politics — they were liberal in the European sense of the word.
The FDP and Liberal Democrats, in a modern space, have become an alternative for conservative voters who are socially liberal but seeking lower taxes and more business-friendly policies than what the CDU/Labour Party offers.
The FDP are the home for non-Christian CDU voters.
Alternative for Germany (Reform UK)
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) much like Reform UK are both young parties. The AfD was formed in 2013, and Reform UK in 2018.
Much like Reform UK, the AfD has dramatically risen in popularity over the past few years. Both parties have positioned themselves as anti-establishment and claim to represent the regular working people, unlike the mainstream political elites.
They both have strong anti-immigration policies. They advocate for strong controls and express concerns over mass migration and how it’s impacting each country’s national identity.
They both share a dislike for the EU, with Reform UK being pro-Brexit and the AfD strongly advocating for “Dexit” (Geman’s exit from the EU).
There are a few key differences with Reform being economically libertarian, advocating for low taxes and deregulation, whilst the AfD is in favour of a more interventionist economic approach.
The AfD has also expressed pro-Russia sympathies and opposes arms supplies to Ukraine, whilst Reform, at least on paper, supports NATO and Ukraine.
Since Reform’s recent surge in popularity, there has been some mirroring of the AfD. The most notable is the AfD having far-right nationalist elements whilst Reform has tried to position itself as more of a right-wing populist party without explicit ethnic nationalism. This has slowly begun to change as Reform grows in popularity.
Who will win Germany’s 2025 election?
At the moment all the polling suggests the CDU/CSU (that’s the Conservative Party) are on course to take the most seats in the Bundestag and their leader, Friedrich Merz is on course to become Germany’s next chancellor. Though much like Labour’s return to power in Britain, voters do not appear to be thrilled with any of the major options.
Germany election polls latest
One of the last opinion polls issued before the voting stations opened this morning suggested the far-right party, the AfD, is set to make large gains.
According to YouGov’s final MRP poll before the election, the far-right AfD’s 145 seats will surpass the 115 projected for the governing SPD, after its popularity has collapsed under chancellor Olaf Scholz.
