Germany’s centre-right CDU and CSU parties have won the federal elections with about 28.5 to 29 per cent of the vote according to exit polls, paving the way for CDU leader Friedrich Merz to become chancellor at a time of economic and political upheaval in Europe’s largest democracy.

Germany’s conservative bloc, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), have emerged as the biggest winners in the German federal election, exit polls show.