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4 hours ago
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Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) has suffered a "devastating, catastrophic result" in parliamentary elections on Sunday, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said, after initial projections showed the party in third place on 16%.
"We have to be sober: This is a devastating, catastrophic result. There is nothing to gloss over," said Pistorius. "There is nothing to gloss over."
The SPD minister said conservative leader Friedrich Merz has a mandate to lead the next government.
Merz's CDU/CSU alliance is leading on 29% of the vote according to initial results, ahead of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on just under 20%.
Pistorius - who was seen as a candidate to lead the SPD if Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not seek re-election - said the party will negotiate with the CDU/CSU over a coalition.
"We have always been willing to talk, we are," the defence minister said. "It's about responsibility, but it's not up to us to take any steps forward now."
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