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DriverOngoing causal factorinstitutional

2024 European Parliament election and rightward shift

A federal election was held in Germany on 23 February 2025 to elect the 630 members of the 21st Bundestag, down from 736 in 2021 due to reforms in seat distribution. The 2025 election took place seven months ahead of schedule due to the 2024 collapse of the Scholz governing coalition.

Event, CDU, Wahlkampf mit Friedrich Merz in Erfurt 2024: Friedrich Merz (CDU-Parteivorsitzender). Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2024-08-21_Friedrich_Merz_in_Erfurt_2024_STP_3041_by_Stepro_(3x4_cropped).jpg).
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A federal election was held in Germany on 23 February 2025 to elect the 630 members of the 21st Bundestag, down from 736 in 2021 due to reforms in seat distribution. The 2025 election took place seven months ahead of schedule due to the 2024 collapse of the Scholz governing coalition. Following the loss of his majority, the chancellor called and intentionally lost a motion of confidence, which enabled the approval of a new election by the president.

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