BERLIN — Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats lost the Berlin election on Sunday to the conservative Christian Democrats, failing to win the regional vote for the first time in almost 25 years.
According to an exit poll cited by public broadcaster ARD, the CDU was the strongest party with 27.5%, up from 18% in 2021. Support for the SPD dropped to 18.5% from 21%, its worst result ever, while the Greens were also on 18.5%, compared with 19%, the poll showed.
It would be the first time the SPD has failed to come first in a Berlin regional election since 1999, when the CDU won with more than 40% of the vote. If SPD Mayor Franziska Giffey fails to hold on to power, she could be replaced by the Greens’ top Berlin lawmaker, Bettina Jarasch.
