Friedrich Merz, a conservative rival of Angela Merkel, is on track to become the next chancellor, though the far-right AfD is expected to make historic gains.

The centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) are projected to win Germany’s 2025 federal election, securing 30 per cent of the vote and 220 seats in the 630-seat Bundestag, according to YouGov’s final MRP forecast released Friday (February 21).

Germany’s European neighbours are still friends and partners, even if political trends in France, Austria and parts of central and eastern Europe give rise to concern in Berlin. But far more worrying is the antagonism of Vladimir Putin’s Russia and,

Germans are going to the polls on Sunday for national elections. Opinion polls suggest the outcome will be a new chancellor and, likely, a new governing coalition.

Germany's mainstream political parties lost support while the far-right AfD gained ground in one of the last polls published before the election on Sunday, pointing to likely tricky coalition building that could drag on for months.