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.

Provisional results confirmed that mainstream conservatives led by Friedrich Merz won Germany's national election​, while a far-right party surged to become the nation's second-largest.

Germany’s conservatives secured a decisive victory in Sunday’s elections, positioning their leader Friedrich Merz as the next chancellor, while

The results released by the electoral authority showed the conservative Christian Democrats and the center-left Social Democrats winning a combined majority of seats in the national legislature after small parties failed to make the electoral threshold.

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, while the far-right Alternative for Germany came in second, its best ever result.

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