Friedrich Merz is 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 centre-left Social Democrats winning a combined majority of parliamentary seats after small parties failed to make the electoral threshold.

The leading candidate, Friedrich Merz, a conservative who has adopted many of the AfD’s hard-line positions on immigration, used his closing statement of the debate to promise his voters that he would never allow the AfD into his government. Under him, he said, the firewall would hold.

Concern is growing over the far-right Alternative for Germany party’s rise ahead of the German election. Its U.S. supporters include Elon Musk and JD Vance.

Alternative for Germany (AfD), which garnered 20.8% of the vote, is now the country's second strongest political force. The party imposed immigration as a major theme during the campaign and enjoyed the support of the Trump administration.

Weidel said voters had delivered a “clear majority” for a coalition with the AfD, which came second, and the winning Christian Democrats (CDU). But CDU leader Friedrich Merz has ruled out a coalition with the far-right party.

Germany's conservatives won the national election on Sunday, while the far-right Alternative for Germany came in second, its best ever result.

Single parties rarely win majorities in German elections, so Friedrich Merz's CDU will need the support of one or more parties to secure a majority in government. His most likely

Provisional results confirm 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.

Alice Weidel, has vowed to "chase" the country's other parties if her party goes into opposition. The CDU/CSU centre-right bloc is leading according to initial projects, and its leader Friedrich Merz has repeatedly ruled out a coalition with the AfD.