German Chancellor Angela Merkel "Congratulated Scholz On Election Win"

"The chancellor congratulated Olaf Scholz on Monday on his election success," the statement said.

Germany's outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel has congratulated Finance Minister Olaf Scholz from the rival Social Democrats on his election victory, a government statement said Wednesday, as Merkel's conservatives remain in disarray after the vote.

Scholz's SPD won 25.7 percent of the vote in Sunday's hard-fought general election, while Merkel's centre-right CDU-CSU bloc slumped to a record-low of 24.1 percent.

"The chancellor congratulated Olaf Scholz on Monday on his election success," the statement said.

Merkel's would-be conservative successor Armin Laschet has yet to publicly do so.