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 final results spare the CDU from having to negotiate a three-party coalition with the Greens to leave out the far-right AfD, which came in second. The future chancellor says it is paramount to wor

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and is sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), have won the snap elections in the German Bundestag, defeating Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SDP).

German opposition leader Friedrich Merz’s conservatives have won a lackluster victory in a national election Sunday, projections show.

The far-right Alternative for Germany was in some ways the biggest winner of the night, recording double its 2021 result. The party’s relentless focus on immigration, economic grievances, and Russia-friendly positions struck a nerve with disillusioned voters, particularly in the East, where it has cemented itself as the strongest party.

Germany's Robert Habeck, who had run in Sunday's election as the chancellor candidate for the environmentalist Greens, said he would no longer take a leading role in his party after what he described as a disappointing result.