The Christian Democratic Union and its allied Christian Social Union secured the largest share of votes in the German federal election, exit polls show.

Friedrich Merz — the leader of the victorious Christian Democratic Union-Christian Social Union alliance — is a U.S.-loving former lawyer but he may clash with President Donald Trump, as Merz is a fierce defender of Europe and NATO.

German voters are choosing their new government in an election dominated by worries about the years-long stagnation of Europe's biggest economy, pressure to curb migration and growing uncertainty over the future of Ukraine and Europe's alliance with the United States.

Germany's opposition conservatives CDU/CSU won the national election on Sunday, putting leader Friedrich Merz on track to be the next chancellor while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD)came in second,

The world’s third largest economy goes to the polls Sunday under the shadow of unusually brusque interventions from the Trump administration in support of the anti-immigration far-right.