Who voted for whom? Clear differences in voting behaviour between east and west remain As in previous Bundestag elections, there were clear differ­ences between people’s voting behaviour in the eastern and the western German federal states. The Social Demo­crats suffered a significant loss of 12.3 percentage points, particularly in the east of the country, where they now have only 12 per cent. In the west, it is still 18 per cent. Com­pared with the last election, losses of direct mandates are particularly noticeable in both regions, reducing the parlia­mentary group from 206 to 120 MPs. Of these, 37 per cent were able to enter parliament via a direct mandate. The CDU/CSU and the AfD achieved almost identical re­sults in both west and east. While the CDU/CSU improved its results in the west to 31 per cent(+5.1 percentage points), in the east it remained very close to its result in the last election at 19 per cent(+1.4 percentage points). The AfD, on the other hand, increased its share of the vote in western Germany to 18 per cent(+9.8 percentage points) and in eastern Germany to 32 per cent(+12.7 percentage points), making it the strongest party in the eastern Ger­man states. The Greens are also traditionally stronger in western Germany(13 vs 8 per cent) and have lost almost the same amount of ground in both regions. Die Linke con­tinues to do better in the eastern German states, where it achieved 13 per cent. But it also improved its results in the west by 4 percentage points, rising to 8 per cent. There is also a clear east–west difference in the case of the BSW, which is not represented in the new Bundestag. Left-leaning women and right-leaning men? Other population groups also show clear differences in terms of voting behaviour. While the Union parties came first among both women and men(30 and 27 per cent), the Social Democrats came second among women(18 per cent), while for men the AfD came second, with 24 per cent. Third place in the gender stakes goes to the SPD, with 15 per cent of men, and to the AfD, with 18 per cent of women. Overall, then, left-wing parties do better with women and right-wing parties with men. A lot of volatility among the youngest The German parliamentary elections have once again re­vealed significant age differences when it comes to voting behaviour. There have also been major shifts within the youngest age group compared with the last election. In the 18–24 age group, Die Linke is the big winner, with 25 per cent(+17 percentage points). The AfD follows with 21 per cent support in this age group. Compared with the 2021 federal election, this age group has turned away from the FDP(–16 percentage points) and the Greens(–13 percent­age points) in particular. The SPD and the CDU/CSU are almost neck and neck in the youngest voter group, with 12 and 13 percentage points, respectively. In the two middle age cohorts(25–34 years and 35–44 years), the AfD be­came the strongest force for the first time, while the CDU/ CSU have superseded the SPD as the strongest force in all age groups over 45 years of age, making significant gains. Comparison of second votes in eastern and western Germany Figures in per cent. Total Eastern Germany Western Germany SPD CDU/CSU Source: Infratest dimap exit poll. Greens FDP AfD Linke BSW Fig. 4 5 ‌ Other Analysis of the Bundestag elections 2025 7