Europe must seek to “achieve independence” from the United States, Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said after his opposition conservatives won elections on Sunday, in a vote that also saw surging support for the far-right.

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.

The Christian Democratic Union’s likely victory comes despite a strong showing by the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD.

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.

Germany’s conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz said he’ll move quickly to form a new government after he won Sunday’s federal election with a result that will require him to form a coalition.

The map above shows the 2025 election results, and the one below shows the 2021 results. It's official: Friedrich Merz 's conservatives won the German election. But it could take weeks for the likely chancellor to weather through messy coalition talks and form a government -- particularly since Merz said he won't work with the party who came in second place.