German election results 2025 – live: Friedrich Merz’s Conservatives win as far right party makes big gains
Friedrich Merz was set to become Germany’s new chancellor after provisional results confirmed his mainstream Conservatives had won the national election.
The results showed Mr Merz’s Christian Democrats and the center-left Social Democrats winning a combined majority of parliamentary seats after small parties failed to make the electoral threshold.
The far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, surged to become the nation’s second-largest party.
Mr Merz said he hoped to form a government by Easter at the latest. The Conservatives would do everything to form a government capable of taking action as quickly as possible, he added.He, however, ruled out a coalition with AfD.
Earlier, US president Donald Trump hailed Sunday as a “great day for Germany” after Mr Merz claimed victory.
Exit polls had predicted the Conservative bloc was on course to win first place with 28.5 per cent of the vote followed by AfD with 20 per cent, marking the party’s strongest result ever.
Incumbent chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party was projected to garner just 16.5 per cent of the vote, its worst-ever result.
