The leading candidate, Friedrich Merz, a conservative who has adopted many of the AfD’s hard-line positions on immigration, used his closing statement of the debate to promise his voters that he would never allow the AfD into his government. Under him, he said, the firewall would hold.

German far-right leader Alice Weidel said she missed a congratulatory call from tech billionaire Elon Musk after Sunday's election, after a campaign in which Musk threw his weight behind Weidel's Alternative for Germany (AfD).

GERMANY’S conservatives have won a historic election after beating out the far-right AfD party. Alternative for Germany (AfD) were heavily backed by international voices – including

Musk won AfD a massive new audience, and JD Vance added support. That brought the party outsized attention, but the impact in Germany was limited, data shows.

Alternative for Germany (AfD), which garnered 20.8% of the vote, is now the country's second strongest political force. The party imposed immigration as a major theme during the campaign and enjoyed the support of the Trump administration.

Single parties rarely win majorities in German elections, so Friedrich Merz's CDU will need the support of one or more parties to secure a majority in government. His most likely

Concern is growing over the far-right Alternative for Germany party’s rise ahead of the German election. Its U.S. supporters include Elon Musk and JD Vance.

Alice Weidel, has vowed to "chase" the country's other parties if her party goes into opposition. The CDU/CSU centre-right bloc is leading according to initial projects, and its leader Friedrich Merz has repeatedly ruled out a coalition with the AfD.

As an openly gay politician who lives with her Sri Lanka-born partner in Switzerland, Alice Weidel was an unusual choice to many to lead Germany's far-right and anti-immigration AfD into