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.

Friedrich Merz will now begin coalition talks with the SPD or the Greens but not with the AfD, far-right party which came second

Maps show how every district in Germany voted. The conservative Christian Democrats have won the most seats while the far-right AfD placed second.