Friedrich Merz has vowed to prioritize European unity and the continent's security as it grapples with the new Trump administration and Russia's war on Ukraine​.

The leader of the conservative Christian Democrats celebrated as exit polls indicated they had won Sunday’s election, which had the highest voter turnout in decades.

Friedrich Merz, a man who has never held a government role, is preparing to take the reins in Germany just as the country faces its biggest economic and diplomatic crises in decades and Europe looks urgently for a new generation of leaders for an era of transatlantic tension.