Germany’s far-right AfD still faces limits, despite election success
The success of the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is a sign of the times. Across Europe, far-right parties once on the fringe have gone mainstream.
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'We have won the election': Germany's conservative leaders celebrate as far-right takes second place
On 23 February, Germany will vote to decide who will run their next federal government. There’s five candidates running to be chancellor – the frontrunner is Friedrich Mertz from the Christian Democrat party. In Germany, a single party rarely wins the majority of seats in the Bundestag, meaning coalition governments often form.
Conservatives win German election while far-right party surges to second place
Provisional results in Germany’s election confirmed that mainstream conservatives won German’s national election, while a far-right party surged to become the nation’s second-largest party. The results released by the electoral authority showed the conservative Christian Democrats and the center-left Social Democrats winning a combined majority of seats in the national legislature after small parties failed to make the electoral threshold.
German conservatives lead election with far-right AfD in second place, exit polls show
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.
'We have won the election': Germany's conservative leaders celebrate as far-right projected to take second place
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.
German Election results in full: Conservative victor Merz faces battle to form coalition as far-right AfD waits in wings
The map above shows the 2025 election results, and the one below shows the 2021 results. It's official: Friedrich Merz 's conservatives won the German election. But it could take weeks for the likely chancellor to weather through messy coalition talks and form a government -- particularly since Merz said he won't work with the party who came in second place.
German Conservatives Seal Election Win, Seeking Coalition Talks
Germany’s conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz said he’ll move quickly to form a new government after he won Sunday’s federal election with a result that will require him to form a coalition.
Germany's Far-Right AfD Party Surges In Election After Elon Musk Support
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.
Euro rises in early Asia trade after conservatives win German election
The euro opened higher in Asian trade on Monday as Germany's conservatives won its election as expected, with investors awaiting further results to see whether much-needed fiscal reform was likely.
Conservative opposition wins German election and the far right is 2nd with strongest postwar result
Projections show German opposition leader Friedrich Merz’s conservatives have won a lackluster victory in Sunday's national ...
Merz warns Europe should seek ‘independence’ from US after conservatives win German election - and far-right support surges
Europe must seek to “achieve independence” from the United States, Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said after ...
Exclusive: Alice Weidel on Her Far-Right AfD Party’s Rise, Elon Musk’s Support, and the German Election
The leading candidate, Friedrich Merz, a conservative who has adopted many of the AfD’s hard-line positions on immigration, ...
What is the AfD, the far-right German party supported by Vance and Musk?
Concern is growing over the far-right Alternative for Germany party’s rise ahead of the German election. Its U.S. supporters ...
What the far right's biggest win since WWII means for Germany's 'firewall'
The far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) won the second-largest share of the votes in the German election, it's the ...
Germany’s Far-Right Targets Victory Next Time After Breakthrough
The far-right Alternative for Germany vaulted into second place on Sunday after about a fifth of voters cast their ballot for ...
Friedrich Merz has won Germany’s election. But as the far right soars, forming a government may be difficult
Friedrich Merz’s party has won the most seats in Germany’s election. But after ridiculing the left and embracing far right ...
Firewall? Why the Far Right Is Unlikely to Join Germany’s Next Government
The collective shunning of the AfD party is part of a longstanding attempt to blunt its move into the mainstream.