section_path: Government formation
section_name: Government formation
paragraph_text: Government formation
  
  With all major parties rejecting to cooperate with the AfD, the CDU/CSU is currently working with SPD, as well as the Greens and Left. This "firewall" was shown in the first parliament session: while every faction has a confirmed right to have one member act as proxy to the speaker, the President of the Bundestag, only those suggested by CDU, CSU, SPD, Greens and Left were actually elected. The AfD candidate was rejected once again, in three rounds, like all of several dozen candidates since 2017. The failure of the FDP and BSW to reach the 5 per cent threshold in the Bundestag meant that these two parties did not receive seats in the new Bundestag.
  
  In total, about 14% of votes are not represented, and the seats are distributed among other parties. Thus, CDU/CSU plus SPD hold 52% of seats despite receiving only 45% of the popular vote. Although the CDU/CSU emerged as the strongest party group, it fell far short of an absolute majority, which was the case only once, in 1957. As usual, further coalition negotiations are necessary, often for several months. The only possible majorities in the Bundestag involving just two groups would be the ones involving the CDU/CSU and either the SPD or, just mathematically, the "firewalled" AfD.
  
  Since Friedrich Merz had publicly ruled out a coalition with the AfD on repeated occasions before and after the election, the only coalition which was considered was one between the centre-right CDU/CSU and the centre-left SPD. The SPD under the leadership of co-party leader Lars Klingbeil agreed to the talks. The decision to start the talks immediately was motivated by the desire of both parties to find a solution to pressing challenges such as the stagnating German economy, the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and concerns about the actions of US President Donald Trump that are undermining transatlantic relations, to avoid prolonged political uncertainty.
  
  Because the CDU/CSU and SPD were always the strongest parties until this election, a coalition of the two is conventionally known as a " grand coalition " (Große Koalition, Groko). Such a coalition has already existed four times in Germany (Kiesinger cabinet in the 1960s, and since 2005 also in the first, third, and fourth Merkel cabinets), most recently from 2017 until 2021 under Chancellor Angela Merkel, when the Jamaica coalition negotiations between the CDU, Greens, and FDP failed and a CDU-led grand coalition was formed instead. The Grand Coalitions often only materialised when other coalitions were not possible.