Exit polls show the center-right Christian Democratic Union party leading, with the AfD party heading towards the strongest showing of the far-right since World War II.

Center-right opposition leader Friedrich Merz claimed victory in Germany’s national election on Sunday after exit polls showed his bloc in the lead. Merz said he was aware of the dimension of the task he faces and said that “it will not be easy.

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.