2013 German federal election

The 2013 German federal election was held on 22 September to elect the members of the 18th Bundestag of Germany. At stake were all 598 seats to the Bundestag, plus 33 overhang seats determined thereafter. The Christian Democratic Union of Germany/Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CDU/CSU) of incumbent chancellor Angela Merkel won their best result since 1990 with nearly 42% of the vote and nearly 50% of the seats, just five short for an overall majority. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) failed to meet the 5% vote electoral threshold in what was their worst showing ever in a federal election at the time, denying them seats in the Bundestag for the first time in their history.

As the FDP, the CDU/CSU's junior coalition partner, failed to get any seats, any prospective government was required to be a coalition. The only possible coalition government excluding the CDU/CSU would have been a left-wing red–red–green coalition, since a red–green alliance, similar to the German government between 1998 and 2005, would not have enough seats for a majority. Both the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and Alliance 90/The Greens ruled out governing with The Left. Ultimately, Merkel's party reached a coalition agreement with the then-main opposition party, the SPD, to form a grand coalition, the third in the country's history since World War II. The SPD leadership conducted a ratification vote by their broader membership before the agreement was made final. The grand coalition was renewed after the 2017 German federal election due to failure during the negotiations of a Jamaica coalition.