German voters cast their ballots in Sunday’s election, with opposition leader Friedrich Merz claiming victory and Chancellor Olaf Scholz conceding defeat. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is heading for the strongest showing for a far-right party since World War II.

German conservative leader Friedrich Merz, the country's presumptive next chancellor, has again ruled out cooperating with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) after Sunday's parliamentary election.

There is a determination among all of Germany's main parties to keep that block in place - and the German public backs them up: 69% see the AfD as a threat to democracy, according

Germany’s political system is set up to exclude extremists. Yet the country is waking up to a new political reality that has lurched to the right with the once outcast Alternative for Germany (AfD) party now firmly established in German politics.

The German elections have taken place and the Bundestag is looking a lot more right-wing than it was this time yesterday. The centre-right CDU (Christian Democratic Union) led by Friedrich Merz will take power having won just over 28pc of the vote.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) became the second largest party in the Bundestag, winning 20.8 percent of the vote in the federal elections.

The AfD finished in second place with just under 21 per cent in Sunday's vote, behind only the conservative CDU-CSU which came first on 28.6 per cent.