Germany/Elections: Sánchez congratulates conservatives on victory

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez congratulated German conservative Friedrich Merz on Monday for the victory of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Sunday's elections in Germany and argued that a "strong Europe" requires working together.

“A strong Europe requires us to work together to face common challenges. More competitiveness, strategic autonomy and ecological and digital transition,” Sánchez wrote on the social network X.

The conservative bloc led by Friedrich Merz won the German legislative elections with 28.6% of the vote, according to official data, and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came in second with 20.8%.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz won around 16.4 percent in Sunday's election, while the coalition partner Greens took around 11.6 percent. The Left (Die Linke) got around 8.8 percent, up from 4.9 percent in 2012.

Conservative leader Friedrich Merz will need partners to form a government.

Greens candidate for chancellor Robert Habeck said on Sunday he was willing to continue taking on government responsibilities if Merz raised the possibility.

The liberal FDP party, which Merz had hoped to have on his side, failed to reach the 5 percent threshold needed to enter the Bundestag, Germany's parliament.

AfD leader Alice Weidel insisted on Sunday night that she was open to negotiations, but Merz reiterated that she rejected coalitions with the far right, maintaining the 'cordon sanitaire' against the radical right.