Exit polls indicate that the German Greens have narrowly defeated Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) in the Baden-Württemberg state election, a closely watched political test for the federal government.
According to projections by German public broadcasters, the Alliance 90/The Greens received just over 31% of the vote, slightly ahead of the CDU at around 30%. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came third with roughly 18%, nearly doubling its result compared with the 2021 election.
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) dropped to around 5.5%, while the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and The Left (Die Linke) appear unlikely to enter the state parliament after failing to reach the 5% threshold.
Cem Özdemir: A prominent German green with Turkish roots
The Greens’ lead candidate, Cem Özdemir, is now poised to become the first state premier in Germany of Turkish heritage. Born in 1965 in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, he is the son of Turkish “guest worker” immigrants who came to Germany during the country’s post-war economic boom.
A long-time figure in German politics, Özdemir became one of the first members of the German Bundestag with Turkish roots in 1994 and later served in the European Parliament before joining the federal government as agriculture minister in the coalition led by Olaf Scholz from 2021 to 2025.
Throughout his political career, Özdemir has also been vocal about democratic reforms and minority rights in Turkey. He has repeatedly called on Turkey to expand political freedoms and has publicly supported greater political rights and democratic participation for the country’s Kurds, including recognition of cultural and political representation.
