Alternative for Germany (AfD) is now on course to win 20.5% of the vote, according to latest projections - but there is no way Friedrich Merz will work with it because of a long-standing political taboo against working with the far right, known as a Brandmauer - a firewall.

Germany's opposition conservatives won the national election on Sunday, putting leader Friedrich Merz on track to be the next chancellor while the far-right Alternative for Germany came in second, its best ever result, projections showed.

Germany’s economy is stalled and its politics fractured. But it sees an opening for a new chancellor to lead Europe’s response to a changing America.

Exit polls project Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) garnered the biggest vote share in the country’s elections Sunday—and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is projected to nab a historic number of votes after garnering the endorsement of billionaire Elon Musk.

U.S. President Donald Trump hailed Sunday as a "great day for Germany" after an election in which the centre-right opposition won first place followed by the far-right AfD with its strongest result ever.

The Christian Democratic Union has won a plurality in the Bundestag, preliminary exit polls suggested Sunday, while the far-right AfD has come in second.

Germany's conservatives won the national election on Sunday but a fractured vote handed the far-right Alternative for Germany its best ever result in second place and left conservative leader Friedrich Merz facing messy coalition talks.

Germany's center-right alliance appears set to win the country's latest federal election, which comes at a critical moment for Europe's largest economy. The latest exit polls show the Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party,