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.

Maps show how every district in Germany voted. The conservative Christian Democrats have won the most seats while the far-right AfD placed second.

Polls are open across Germany as the world’s third largest economy chooses a new leader to guide it through an era of febrile immigration debates and souring relations with Washington.

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.

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.

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 euro opened higher in Asian trade on Monday as Germany's conservatives won its election as expected, with investors awaiting further results to see whether much-needed fiscal reform was likely.