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.

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.

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.

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.

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.