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.

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.

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

German Christian Democrats secure potential parliamentary majority through possible coalition with Social Democrats, according to official provisional results - Anadolu Ajansı

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.