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.

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.

Alternative for Germany (AfD) is now on course to win 20.5% of the vote, according to latest projections - but there is no way Friedrich Merz will work with it because of a long-standing political taboo against working with the far right, known as a Brandmauer - a firewall.

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Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg’s daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.

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

The Christian Democratic Union’s victory comes despite a strong showing by the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD.

Germany's conservatives won the national election on Sunday but a fractured vote handed the far-right Alternative for Germany its best ever result in second place and left conservative leader Friedrich Merz facing messy coalition talks.