World

German chancellor candidates react to exit polls in Sunday's election

Published

10 months ago

February 23, 2025

German chancellor candidates react to exit polls in Sunday's election

German chancellor candidates have spoken publicly to their supporters after exit polls came out indicating the results of the country’s snap federal election results.

Germans took to the polls on Sunday to elect their next parliament in an election that’s been dubbed as the most pivotal election in recent decades.

Four candidates were competing for the top chancellor job after the ruling coalition collapsed, triggering a snap election. Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) was fighting for re-election where he faced strong opposition in Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Alice Weidel of the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) and Robert Habeck of the Greens.

In the weeks leading to the election, the CDU – in alliance with its sister Bavarian party the Christian Social Union (CSU) – were the frontrunners, projected to win around 30% of the vote.

Trailing behind in second place were the AfD, who’ve experienced a dramatic surge in popularity recently and were projected to win around 20% of the total vote.

Scholz’s SPD came in third with polls predicting a 16% result for them, and former Vice Chancellor Habeck’s Greens polling at 13%.

Tens of millions of Germans cast their ballots on Sunday in a turnout that exceeded 80% of the nearly 60 million eligible voters.

Early exit polls have indicated that the CDU/CSU union are in the lead to govern with around 28.5% of the votes. The AfD were standing at around 20%, the SPD were at just over 16% – their lowest-ever election result – and the Greens at around 11.5%.

Vote counting is still underway and official results are expected to be announced on Monday, but they aren’t expected to change significantly. This means that Germany is once again headed to a coalition government, as winning an absolute majority has never happened in the country’s modern history.

Here’s how the candidates reacted to early exit results.

Olaf Scholz – SPD

Scholz who led the last coalition government before it collapsed triggering this vote convened with supporters in the German capital, Berlin.

The outgoing German chancellor said he takes full responsibility for his party’s loss.

“This is a bitter election result for the Social Democratic Party. It is also an electoral defeat. I think that needs to be made clear at the outset in view of the result. And it is also very important for me to say that it is a result from which we must move forward together,” said Scholz.

The SPD chancellor candidate also commented on the significant gains of the far-right in the country, expressing concern over what this could mean for the future of the country.

“The fact that an extreme right-wing party like the AfD gets such election results in this country must never be something we will accept. I will not and will never accept this.”

Friedrich Merz – CDU/CSU

The union also held an event in Berlin, but unlike that of the SPD’s, this event was full of cheers and celebrations.

“We, the CDU and the CSU, the Union, we won this 2025 federal election!,” said Merz as he walked on stage to address supporters.

The CDU leader who’s tasked with forming a coalition to lead a new government thanked supporters for the trust they placed in him and the party and pledged to uphold this trust and advance the country.

“I am aware of the responsibility. I am also aware of the scale of the task that now lies ahead of us. I approach it with the utmost respect, and I know that it will not be easy.”

Merz added that his party will now prioritise speed in forming the next government, highlighting that it’s essential to get things started right away and work on reforming the country.

“The world out there isn’t waiting for us, and it isn’t waiting for long-drawn-out coalition talks and negotiations.”

“We must now become capable of acting quickly again so that we can do the right thing domestically, so that we are present in Europe again, so that the world sees: Germany is reliably governed again!,” continued Merz.

Alice Weidel – AfD

Far-right AfD leader Alice Weidel was also celebrating in the German capital following her hugely successful election result.

The AfD increased their share of the vote by 10%, doubling their result from the last federal election in 2021.

“We have doubled our votes, they wanted to cut them in half. The opposite has happened,” said Weidel.

The AfD candidate for chancellor also reiterated her willingness to participate in government despite the “firewall” against extremist parties.

“Our hand will always remain outstretched for participation in government, to implement the will of the people, the will of Germany. We are ready to participate in government,” continued Weidel.

Merz has already stated that he will not include the AfD in coalition considerations arguing that their policies do not represent or align with those of the union.

Robert Habeck – Greens

The Greens performed below expectation in Sunday’s federal election and both politicians and supporters knew it.

Speaking to supporters, the Greens candidate Robert Habeck acknowledged the poor performance and congratulated Merz on his victory.

He outlined some problems that he views as a major cause for concern for Germany.

“The election result itself is food for thought. Because the rise of right-wing populism, the lack of solidarity among many parties with Ukraine, which is fighting for its freedom, the unresolved relationship of many parties to a real European unity, that worries me, that worries us a lot.”

Habeck also reiterated his party’s willingness to join a coalition and take responsibility and contribute to the country, a decision that lies with Friedrich Merz, who will be given the mandate to govern once the election results are official.

The CDU/CSU will engage in talks with other parties over the coming days and weeks to form a new coalition and government.

One possible combinations could be the “Kenya” coalition. The Kenya coalition will bring together the red (SPD), black (CDU/CSU) and green (Greens), though experts say this would be a last resort as it is an unpopular alliance.

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World

Team Races Against Time to Save a Tangled Sea Lion in British Columbia

Published

6 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Team Races Against Time to Save a Tangled Sea Lion in British Columbia

A team of marine mammal experts had spent several days in Cowichan Bay, British Columbia, searching for a sea lion with an orange rope wrapped around its neck. As the sun set on Dec. 8, they were packing up, for good, when a call came in.

The tangled animal, a female Steller sea lion weighing 330 pounds, had been spotted on a dock in front of an inn, leading into the bay in southwestern Canada.

The rope was wrenched four times around her neck, carving a deep gash. Without help, the sea lion would die.

The team had been trying to find the sea lion for a month, and on that day, with daylight running out, the nine members that day knew they needed to work fast. They relaunched their boats and a team member loaded a dart gun and shot her with a sedative.

“Launching the dart is the easiest part of the whole operation,” said Dr. Martin Haulena, executive director of the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society, which conducted the rescue alongside Fisheries and Oceans Canada. “It’s everything that happens after that, that you just have no control over.”

Steller sea lions, also known as northern sea lions, are the largest such breed. They are found as far south as Northern California and in parts of Russia and Japan. A male Steller sea lion can weigh up to 2,500 pounds.

The Cowichan Tribes Marine Monitoring Team assisted the rescue society, calling it whenever the sea lion was spotted. The tribe named her Stl’eluqum, meaning “fierce” or “exceptional” in Hul’q’umi’num’, an Indigenous language, according to the rescue society.

After Stl’eluqum was sedated, she jumped from the dock into the water. Recent torrential rains and flooding had stirred up debris, making the water brown, and harder to spot the sea lion, Dr. Haulena said.

Several minutes after the sea lion dived into the bay, the drone spotted her and the team moved in.

The rope had multiple strands and it was wrapped so deeply that she most likely wasn’t able to eat, Dr. Haulena said. At first, the team had trouble freeing her.

“You couldn’t see it because it was way dug in underneath the skin and blubber of the animal,” Dr. Haulena said.

After unraveling the rope, the team tagged her flipper, gave her some antibiotics and released her.

Freeing the sea lion was the culmination of weeks of searching and missed moments. The first call about the tangled marine mammal was made to the Fisheries and Oceans Canada hotline on Nov. 7, according to a news release from the rescue society. Then the society logged more calls.

The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society, a nonprofit that works in partnership with the Vancouver Aquarium, searched for several days for the sea lion. The day they found her was the last of the rescue effort because bad weather was forecast for the area around the bay. The call that led them to Stl’eluqum came from the Cowichan Tribes, Dr. Haulena said.

The society, Dr. Haulena said, cares for about 150 marine mammals from its rescues every year — sea lions, otters, harbor seals and the occasional sea turtle. The group gives medical care to animals it takes in, such as Luna, an abandoned newborn sea otter who was three pounds when she was found and still had her umbilical cord attached.

Many of the society’s rescues involve animals tangled in garbage or debris, Dr. Haulena said.

Stl’eluqum was tangled in nylon rope commonly used to tie boats or crab traps, he said. When sea lions get something caught around their necks it can grow tighter until it cuts into their organs, sometimes fatally, he said.

“It’s our garbage; it’s our fault,” Dr. Haulena said. “It’s a large amount of animal suffering and not a good outcome unless we can do something.”

World

Poland foils ISIS-type bomb plot as Sydney attack triggers UK, Europe terror alerts

Published

7 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Poland foils ISIS-type bomb plot as Sydney attack triggers UK, Europe terror alerts

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Polish authorities have foiled a suspected ISIS-inspired plot to attack a Christmas market, charging a student accused of preparing a mass casualty bombing, according to officials.

The case comes as Germany and the U.K. also raised security measures around religious and cultural events after the Sydney shooting Sunday in which 16 people were shot dead at a Jewish Hanukkah party on Bondi Beach.

Polish authorities say the suspect, identified as Mateusz W., 19, was detained in late November at an apartment in Lublin by officers from the Internal Security Agency (ABW).

According to Jacek Dobrzyński, a spokesperson for the Minister’s Coordinator of Special Services, investigators believe the teen had been studying how to make explosives and intended to join a terrorist organization to help carry out the attack.

EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS MARKETS FORTIFY SECURITY MEASURES AS TERROR THREATS FORCE MAJOR OPERATIONAL CHANGES

Polish authorities foil an alleged ISIS Christmas market bombing plot targeting holiday shoppers. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“The purpose of the crime was to intimidate many people, as well as to support the Islamic State,” Dobrzyński said in a statement shared on X.

Items linked to Islam and digital storage devices were seized, and the suspect has been remanded for three months as the Szczecin branch of ABW continues its investigation.

At a news conference, Dobrzyński also referenced a June case in which three 19-year-olds were charged over alleged extremist plots, including a reported plan to attack a school in Olsztyn.

MOSSAD–EUROPEAN INTELLIGENCE OPERATION LAUNCHES SWEEPING CRACKDOWN ON HAMAS GLOBAL TERROR NETWORK

Authorities arrested five on suspicion of plotting a terror attack on a Christmas market in Bavaria. (Juergen Sack/Getty Images)

“You are familiar with this issue from Olsztyn; now we have another example of preparing an attack before Christmas,” he told reporters, according to GB News.

In Germany, police in Lower Bavaria also arrested five men on Dec. 12 on suspicion of preparing an attack on a Christmas market, according to reports.

Authorities said an Egyptian national described as an Islamic preacher had allegedly called for an assault during gatherings at a mosque in the Dingolfing-Landau area, per Euronews.

CANADIAN SPY CHIEF WARNS OF ALARMING RISE IN TEEN TERROR SUSPECTS, ‘POTENTIALLY LETHAL’ THREATS BY IRAN

In the U.K., counterterrorism officials have stepped up armed patrols and public alert messaging across London and other major cities. (Matthew Chattle/Future Publishing via Getty Image)

Special operations forces carried out the arrests, and investigators believe the group had begun early-stage preparations.

In the U.K., counterterrorism officials stepped up armed patrols and public alert messaging across London and other major cities on Tuesday.

“Sadly, as shown by the appalling attack on Sydney’s Jewish community during a Hanukkah event, we know they can also be a target for terrorist activity,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jon Savell said in a press release.

He cited large festive gatherings, religious services and Christmas markets as potential targets.

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In the release posted Tuesday, he urged the British public to report anything that “doesn’t feel right” as part of the annual winter vigilance campaign.

Meanwhile, U.S. authorities say they separately disrupted a New Year’s Eve plot in Southern California.

Four alleged members of an extremist anti-capitalist, anti-government group suspected of rehearsing coordinated bombings against sites linked to two U.S. companies were arrested on Monday.

Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.