SPD narrowly wins German election against Merkel’s CDU but uncertainty remains over next leader

Germany’s left-leaning Social Democratic Party (SPD) will begin negotiations to form a ruling coalition after preliminary results showed the party narrowly winning the largest share of parliamentary seats following Sunday’s federal election.

With all 299 of Germany’s electoral districts reporting, the SDP won 25.7% of the vote, beating out the Christian Democratic Union (CDU),