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.

The Christian Democratic Union party is projected to win the election, but the far-right Alternative for Germany is set for its best result since World War II.

Polls are open across Germany as the world’s third largest economy chooses a new leader to guide it through an era of febrile immigration debates and souring relations with Washington.