and that you have the cdu and csu and the greens and the free market liberals of the f d p. then the kenyan coalition, the social democrats again, the cdu and csu again but this time with the greens. together these are the 3 parties that have been pulling top which raises questions about the strength of any opposition to the coalition. then the traffic lights coalition, red for the social democrats, yellow of the free market liberals the f d p but this time the greens as well. they have a lot of common ground that there are differences on social policy and taxes. they will have to get over those differences that they are able to form a governing coalition. those are 4 options and there are many, many more which is why even when we have the result thatis why even when we have the result that is just the start of the process. the negotiations began and it will only be when coalition is formed we will know who will replace angela merkel. i hope you followed all that. forall the angela merkel. i hope you followed all that. for all the complexities this is a very big moment for g

or a federal government led by the cdu and csu. ross: we heard a reference there to a party from the far left, democratic descendant of the communist party that governed old east germany. as all parties know there will be a coalition government of some form and they are offering themselves as a would coalition partner with the social democrats and the greens and misses merl is keen to ward off voters who are in fact not focused on the bricks -- risks she sees and is trying to present her own party candidate as a stable leader for germany. >> it's also about tangible economic and fiscal considerations that will define the future of this country. that is why, ladies and gentlemen, the best way forward is a government led by the cdu and csu. his government will stand for stability, reliability, moderation and balance, exactly what germany needs. >> being presented as a stable oice, but may not be enough. have a look at this latest poll that suggests that support for them, marked in black as the union because they align with their sist

from both parts of the conservative bloc, he sounded confident of victory. >> cdu and csu want to do everything in our power in the next few years to create a good germany, a good europe, and a better word -- world. that is why we ask for your trust and i ask for your confidence in becoming the next federal chancellor of germany. >> the green party dropped back in the polls. at her final campaign event in dusseldorf, she stressed her parties environmental focus that said the tone of any coalition government of which -- could set the tone of any coalition government of which the greens are a part. >> to the spd and the conservatives we say, the people are not stupid. we can no longer afford to do things by heart. we need a federal government working for the climate. >> the spd can induce its lead in -- continues its lead in the polls. a good third of those surveyed are still not sure whether they want to vote at all. and if so, who for. that means the shape of the government is anyone's guess. spd and conservatives might be able to form a tea party alliance but a three-way coalition c

we have ideas, we have a roadmap, and above all, we have olaf scholz. >> the cdu and csu are realizing that another candidate was the winner. >> olaf scholz has the best chance of becoming chancellor, clearly. >> the ftp and the greens want another round of talks on friday with more participants, but still strictly confidential. brent: let's take a look now at some of the other stories that are making headlines around the world. a tornado in the northern german city of kiel lifted several people off the ground and tossed them into the water. you see the funnel cloud there. that is all according to the local police. six people were hospitalized. the prime minister of kosovo has asked the region to replace special police forces unblocked order crossings with serbia. the move is to stem ongoing ethnic tensions between kosovo albanians and minority kosovo serbs in the area. the european union has called on all sides to smooth out relations. in italy, a statue of a woman has sparked a debate about sexism after it was criticized for being inappropriate and offensive by female politicians. th

or a federal government led by the cdu and csu with them as chancellor. die linke party that mrs merkel refers to there is far left — and the democratic descendant of the communist party which governed old east germany. and as all parties know, there will be a coalition government after this election. die linke is offering itself as a would—be coalition partners with the social democrats, the spd, and the greens. mrs merkel is keen to warn voters of what she sees as the risks that would involve. she's also seeking to to present her own party's candidate — this man, armin laschet — as a stable leader for germany. translation: it's also about tangible economic and fiscal considerations which will define the future of this country, the numbers ofjobs and are common prosperity. that is why, ladies and gentlemen, the best way forward for our country is a government led by the cdu and the csu with armin laschet as chancellor because his government will stand for stability, reliability, moderation and balance, which is exactly what germany needs. so armi

the spd have 10 more seats in the bundestag and the conservative cdu and csu. since then we've had armen, the candidate for the cdu to succeed under angela merkel, last night he basically said he would also be willing to form a government. this turned a different language today. now he is saying he's not claiming a mandate for the government, but he is going to still try and do it, particularly if his attempts fail. he will try to stick around. >> how long will they give them, what's the timeline. >> by three months with most coalition agreements. the big exception was four years ago. the first round of talks to form the coalition oversaw attempts to form a coalition with the greens, that failed when they pulled out and the social democrats were reluctantly pushed into another grand coalition as we like to call it. but once things get on track here, you can expect per luminary talks would take up october before going into official talks in germany. you basically have to draft a coalition accord that is a book length blueprint for what the next government is goi

and the csu, cdu and the greens. these have been pulling top which raises questions about the strength of any opposition to this coalition. the next is the traffic lights coalition. you have read social democrats, the yellow of free—market liberals the ftp but this time the greens as well. they have a lot of common ground but differences on social policy and taxes. they will have to get over that if they want to form a governing coalition. those are a—mac options and believe me, but this is why even when we have the results it is just the start of the results it is just the start of the process. negotiations began and it is only when the coalition is formed that we know who will replace angela merkel. so those are some of the coalition possibilities but there are other style and we know which will become more likely and which will become more likely and which will become more likely and which will fade away as soon as we see how the election result is going. 1st from the global public policy institute and timo yo

everything to form a government under the leadership of the cdu union. —— cdu—csu union. it appears voters weren't bowled over by any single party. people we spoke to at polling stations earlier seemed pulled in very different directions. the christian democrats have been in powerfor the past 16 years and a lot of the challenges were not really addressed. i voted for change, but not a dramatic change. the climate crisis is the most pressing issue we have - to deal with urgently. the environment was a big election issue. germany's green party didn't perform as strongly as it had hoped, but it's tipped to play a key role in the next german government. so, what now? well, it's all about coalition building. a race between germany's two main parties to woo others to form a parliamentary majority. only then will we know who germany's next chancellor will be. until then, angela merkel isn't going anywhere. katya adler, bbc news, berlin. let's cross live now to the german capital where we can speak to ed turner, research modern german politics. good morning. we are seeing reports

let's speak to peter, and adviser in that team, the candidate for the cdu and the csu. peter, thank you very much indeed for joining us. what is your reaction to this results?— this results? well, it is very disappointing. _ this results? well, it is very disappointing, obviously, i this results? well, it is very| disappointing, obviously, we this results? well, it is very - disappointing, obviously, we have lost a lot of votes, but ultimately, we all know we have a parliamentary system, we have a lot of parties in parliament now, and ultimately, the chancellor will be represented by the party that finds a majority of votes in parliament, and that is not clear at all tonight. both parties at the top, the social democrats and the christian democrats have a chance to form a coalition that garners the most votes in parliament.— garners the most votes in parliament. garners the most votes in arliament. �* , , ., parliament. but if the cdu, your .a l parliament. but if the cdu, your -a , is parliament. but if the cdu, your party. is to _ parliament. but if the cdu, you

the cdu, sbd and the gres. the cdu is the sister party of angela merkel's csu party. seven leaders in total. a lot to listen to. the last chance, perhaps, for these leaders to land a punch on each other. the editor of berlin pulse that researches. and the chief correspondent of politico based here in berlin. here is matthew on the two candidates likely to succeed angela merkel. >> they are both running on angela merkel's record. schultz has been running with angela merkel's famous hand gesture. there is a sense that in order to win, you need to copy angela merkel, which means you will stand for stability, you will try to convince thelectorate they do not need to worry about anything, all will be ok. germany can continue on as this large switzerland in the world, as it has. it seems to be working out for schultz. you can see the dramatic rise he has had in the polls over the last eight weeks. it is extraordinary by any standards. it is less about the party and more about him. >> when i covered the last election, immigration is the latest centrist issue. now, it is clim

translation: the best way forward for our country is a government led l by the cdu and the csu, with armin laschet as chancellor. because his government will stand for stability, reliability, moderation and balance, which is exactly what germany needs. so let me remind you of the key figures in this election. battling it out to become the next chancellor — angela merkel�*s chosen succesor armin laschet on the left, and the spd�*s olaf scholz. laschet�*s campaign has been riddled with gaffes, most notably when he was caught on camera laughing during a ceremony for the victims of germany's catastrophic flooding. conversely, olaf scholz has seen his fortunes rise through the campaign — with almost half of the voters now saying they would prefer him as the next chancellor. the pandemic has certainly hurt the cdu, and the threat of a third wave is hardly helping. so, there is much to get into here. let's talk to journalist emmanuelle chaze in berlin. nice to see you. we were talking just last night about the canadian election and the threat tojustin trudeau, who called a snap el

they knew that at the cdu and its party the csu and that is anger in america's party as well. it's recorded its worst result in decades but it is still a close second. been bearin but it is still a close second. been bear in mind both the breeze are claiming they have the right to form a coalition government and they are busy setting about how to do that and that's the fourth thing we should bear in mind. neither of them can't do it alone because they will have to cut gales with other rival parties in order to get 50%. only mandated that can be funny collation and you need a coalition if you are going to be chancellor. with all of that in mind let us have a look at the results of the german election. this is how we think it is going to look. you can see social democrats just in the lead on 206 seats. ten behind. you have got the union and the csu. just as relevant in the collation calculations are there greens at 118 and a free market liberals at 92. a couple of other things to bear in mind. the alternative for germany, 83, another strong showing, a bit down since the last ele

these three should lead the government and we have to say cdu, csu have not only lost big, they have also gotten the message from citizens to no longer govern and to go into opposition. >> reporter: olaf scholz who conducted a brilliant campaign. the coalition he's talking about is going to be most probably the green party and the liberal democrats. on the other hand, you have angela merkel's party, the christian democratic union and christian social union as well, they suffered massive losses. no other way to put it. it was a disastrous campaign. armin laschet said he wants to form a coalition as well. even if you don't have the strongest party, you can form a governing coalition. it looks like the air is getting thin for him. a final word obviously, guys, for angela merkel, i saw her on stage yesterday. it was a sad way to end the 16 years at the helm. >> fred, as you listen, she's been chancellor for 16 years which is amazing. >> yeah. >> what does her loss mean for germany's influence for refugees, china, there's so much we've seen it. de facto also. the leader on the administrat

then you've got the cdu along with the sister party, the csu. the greens could be critical there on 17% and at the moment the free market liberals are on 11. the reason all these parties matter is the next government of germany will be a coalition and there are any number of possibilities here. there are other parties on the ballot that may also be a factor. let's hear fromatthew, our chief european correspondent or politico on whether the spd could realistically take this. >> it looks realistic at the moment. as you have said, the holes have been tightening and we are well within the margin of error. for the past six to eight weeks would say, the momentum has really been with the social democrats and it doesn't look at the moment like there is any real impulse there that would propel the christian democrats forward and allow them to take this election on sunday. armand losh was this evening with angela merkel and as has been typical for him throughout the campaign, it didn't go well. it started raining, there were hecklers in the crowd. he has

for thej greens, they were celebrating of the cdu/csu union. for the l greens, they were celebrating a record result not as good as they'd hoped it could have been six months ago. but they and the pro—business liberals will now play a key role in the business of trying to build a coalition. translation: we wanted more. _ coalition. translation: - wanted more. we did not achieve that, partly because of our own mistakes at the beginning of the campaign that make my own mistakes. this time it was not enough but the party has a mission for the future. we were warned it would _ mission for the future. we were warned it would be _ mission for the future. we were warned it would be a _ mission for the future. we were warned it would be a long, - mission for the future. we were warned it would be a long, long| warned it would be a long, long night and it certainly has proved to be that way but with every hour that has passed and more results have come in, they have grown in optimism here at the social democrats's headquarters but they know the next p

former mayor of hamburg, narrowly defeated the conservative block or cdu/csu, led by armin laschet, his party's successor to angela merkel. but in order to form a government, they'll need to engage in coalition talks with smaller parties, such as the greens and the free democrats, to reach a majority. in the bundestag, which would lead to germany's first-ever - [ siren blaring whoa is that our rudy giuliani news alert siren? the siren we had installed in the studio to tell us whenever something funny happens to rudy giuliani? wally, throw out all the cue cards about germany. >> nein. >> seth: what? >> sorry, sorry. i meant, do you want me to throw out all nine of the cue cards about germany. [ light laughter ] >> seth: oh, i see what you did there, wally okay let's see what rudy's up to. >> fox news has reportedly suspended former president trump's personal attorney, rudy giuliani, from appearing on any of its shows >> his favorite tv outlet has reportedly banned him. he's been benched for almost three months, in part because of the vote counting conspiracy theories that he pushed,

here's the polling from last week again, and we've talked about the cdu/csu, about the social democrats and about the greens — but also note the far—right afd, the far left die linke, and the liberal conservatives, the fdp. now, nobody will work in coalition with the afd, but all of the other parties matter. that's because german governments are always coalitions. this is how it works. are you ready? ok, here we go. germans cast two votes. one for a local mp, one for a political party. at least 598 members are elected by these two votes. then half of the bundestag is made up of local mps, half are elected from party lists, based on the percentage of the overall vote that the parties receive. then the bundestag is set, and coalition talks begin. now, these coalitions in germany have all sorts of funny names — traffic light, jamaica, kiwi. they all refer to the different colours of the parties. and eventually, a coalition emerges that has over 50% of mps. that coalition then chooses the chancellor. that process, as you can imagine, can take a while. last time it took months — five

everything to form a government under the leadership of the cdu—csu union. well, we were warned it would be a long, long night and it certainly proved to be that way. but with every hour that's passed and more results have come in, they've grown in optimism here at the social democrats' headquarters. but they know the next phase ahead will not be straightforward. pop music plays. after 16 years of merkel, germans have sent a message at the ballot box. the trouble is it's not exactly clear what it was and what it will mean for the country and further afield. nick beake, bbc news, berlin. our correspondent, david eades, has been at the count and joins me now. i will what we heard at the end of the report, it is not clear what lies ahead. what can the expectations be? if it is coalition, how different might be trajectory really end up being? how different might be tra'ectory really end up being?i how different might be tra'ectory really end up being? joanna, things have moved — really end up being? joanna, things have moved already, _ really end up being? joa

a new kind of oxygen if that becomes the focus of the cdu/csu. we've seen this happen in britain with brexit. we've seen this happened with the french where the french right and the french far right are increasingly closer, and so many of their ideas and agendas have been mainstreamed. so i think that's something we need to be looking out for. >> yeah. where we've seen the narrowing of the narratives. thanks so much, dominick thomas, in berlin. fascinating talking to you. this really is a real change on so many levels. appreciate it. >> thank you, robyn. >>> i want to show you this. look at this dramatic video of a church collapse in the canary islands. the building was on the island of la palma where a volcano has been erupting for more than a week now. the lava engulfed the church, causing it to crumble to the ground. hundreds of homes and businesses have been destroyed since this volcano first erupted. certainly dramatic pictures. >> officials warn that the volcano in la palma is getting more dangerous, and experts lava explosions will last an

what is interesting, though, is that they are not expected to win over the cdu/csu voters. we have to remember that numbers are dropping to record lows. some analysts say it is because migration, the one topic the afd was able to capitalize on in the last election, is not as present this time around. second, the party has -- some of the members are under germany's intelligence agency surveillance, and that increases hurdles to them. brent: in the last election, as you said, the refugee crisis was one big reason we saw an increase in voter support for the far-right. is there anything, though, that is analogous to that this time around? >> not to the same extent, but the one topic they are trying to get out and capitalize on is the handling of it. one of the major points in their program as they want to get rid of all pandemic restrictions. some of the party leaders are openly flirting with the anti-vaccine here in germany. a former lead candidate is very vocal about the fact that she has not been vaccinated yet, and she and her party want to sort of present themselves as the

here is the polling from last week again, and we've talked about the cdu csu, about the social democrats and about the greens, but also note the far right afd, the far left the linker, and the liberal conservatives, the fdp. now, nobody will work in coalition with the afd, but all the other party matter. that is because german governments are always coalitions. this is how it works. are you ready? ok, here we go. germans cast two votes. one for a local mp, one for a political party. at least 598 members are elected by these two votes. then half of the bundestag is made up of local mps, half are elected from party lists, based on the percentage of the overall vote that the parties received. then the bundestag is set, and coalition talks begin. now, these collections in germany have all sorts of funny names, traffic light, jamaica, kiwi. they all refer to the different colours of the parties. and eventually, a coalition emerges which has over 50% of mps. that coalition then chooses chancellor. that process, as you can imagine, will take a while. last time it took months, five months. but w

/csu, center right both of these main parties only managed to get a quarter of the electorate support then you have a bunch of other parties like the greens who got about 15%, and then the fdp, the liberals, around 11% and various other parties trailing at the extreme left and at the extreme right so the most likely outcome now, the pollsters think is that we will see the spd, which narrowly won the poll, form a coalition with the liberals and the greens now what does that mean for business and for taxes the greens and the spd had tax pol policies that would have seen higher taxes on the wealthy and probably higher taxes on companies. the liberals, they're against higher taxes they are more focused on investment in the structure of the economy. so that could actually mean that these parties, as they come into coalition, begin to cross out policies where they have disagreements, which potentially means taxes really don't go up very much and we don't see any major financial commitments or fiscal deficits here in germany. so in a sense, we have stability through stalemate, if you want to

you have lost, please have some insight of further damage to the cdu and resign. further indication of how vulnerable armin laschet�*s position has become from the cdu's sister party in bavaria, the csu. its leader markus soeder only narrowly lost out to armin laschet in the contest to become theirjoint parties�* candidate for chancellor last year. here's what he has to say about the election result. because i shanaka i can only say one thin , at because i shanaka i can only say one thing. at the — because i shanaka i can only say one thing, at the moment _ because i shanaka i can only say one thing, at the moment olaf— because i shanaka i can only say one thing, at the moment olaf sholz - because i shanaka i can only say one thing, at the moment olaf sholz is i thing, at the moment olaf sholz is the best chance to become chancellor. it is important to respect an election outcome and as far as i'm concerned, it is only public to congratulate him for getting the majority of votes in germany, because it has not happened very often so far. i explicitly would

everything to form a government under the leadership of the cdu/csu union. we were warned it would be a long, long night and it certainly proved to be that way. with every hour that's passed and more results have come in, they've grown in optimism here at the social democrats headquarters. but they know the next phase ahead will not be straightforward. after 16 years of merkel, germans have sent a message at the ballot box. the trouble is it's not exactly clear what it was and what it will mean for the country and further afield. nick beake, bbc news, berlin. strictly come dancing contestant tom fletcher has tested positive for covid. he and his partner will not be able to perform for ten days. they are expected back following weekend. they were brilliant at the weekend, when they? i am gutted for those then. shall we distract you with your favourite subject? this is the goal. sorry. iforgot favourite subject? this is the goal. sorry. i forgot that no one pairs apart from me. the ryder cup did not go the way the europeans plan. it was a whitewash. europe's g

support for the cdu/csu alliance — led my armin laschet, who is running in place of angela merkel — is up one point at 22%. the greens — led by annalena baerbock — slip one point to 16%. and the business—friendly free democrats — of christian lindner — remain on 11%. guiding you through the election this weekend here on the bbc will be our colleague ros atkins who is berlin for us tonight. big event tonight. seven of the leaders on stayed done backstage. 25% of the electorate, i read, still undecided. it 25% of the electorate, i read, still undecided. . , 25% of the electorate, i read, still undecided. ., 25% of the electorate, i read, still undecided-— 25% of the electorate, i read, still undecided. ., , ., , , undecided. it was a big opportunity and it was an _ undecided. it was a big opportunity and it was an opportunity _ undecided. it was a big opportunity and it was an opportunity for - undecided. it was a big opportunity and it was an opportunity for all. undecided. it was a big opportunity and it was an opportunity for all of| and it was an opportunity for all of th

/csu on 24.1% of the votes. to form a majority of seats in the parliament, they'd each need at least two partners. so the greens and the liberal free democrats will now be the kingmakers in these coalition negotiations. joining me now is dr nicolai von 0ndarza, a senior fellow at the political think tank, swp. thank is going to form the next government. —— thank you forjoining me. do you think is going to form the next government? inaudible the nipples and the greens will be the kingmakers. —— the liberals and the kingmakers. —— the liberals and the greens. for now, i would say inaudible give me an idea of a timeframe because we have heard all sorts of things about how long this might take. in some respects, it looks pretty straightforward. it take. in some respects, it looks pretty straightforward.- pretty straightforward. it could take a while. _ pretty straightforward. it could take a while. there _ pretty straightforward. it could take a while. there are - pretty straightforward. it could take a