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Russian expert says Germany’s CDU/CSU, SPD lose votes due to voters’ confusion

According to the exit polls, incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU bloc has gained as many as 32.5% of the vote, the bloc is followed by SPD with 20%

MOSCOW, September 25. /TASS/. Germany’s conservative bloc of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), as well as the Social Democratic Party (SPD), have failed received as many votes in the Bundestag elections as they hoped due to voters’ confusion, Deputy Director of the Institute for European Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladislav Belov told TASS.

"The first sensation that the Bundestag elections have created is a significant loss of votes that the major parties, that is the CDU/CSU bloc and SPD, are facing, because no one expected that," he said. "The reason for it is that up to half of the voters were uncertain and even confused, so they could not decide who to vote for until the very last moment," he added.

The Russian expert also said that the results of the smaller parties had come as another surprise. "Alternative for Germany has garnered more than 13%, the Free Democratic Party has received more than 10%, and the Green Party has also achieved success," he noted.

According to Belov, forming a ruling coalition will be a difficult task, no matter if the CDU/CSU bloc decides to team up with SPD or tries to form a coalition with the Free Democratic Party and the Green Party. "There are various reasons, the Social Democrats need to go into opposition, so the Jamaica coalition [a coalition among the parties of CDU/CSU, the Free Democratic Party, and the Green Party - TASS] members would also have some contradictions," the expert added.

Parliamentary elections were held in Germany on Sunday. According to the exit polls conducted by the country’s central TV channels, incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU bloc has gained as many as 32.5% of the vote. The bloc is followed by SPD with 20%, while the right Alternative for Germany party is third, having won around 13.5% of the vote.

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