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 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.

The conservative CDU/CSU party has won the parliamentary elections in Germany. The leader of the formation, Friedrich Merz, is the main candidate for chancellor. During the campaign, the future head of the German government expressed support for closing the borders.

Germany's conservatives won the country's snap elections, but many in the party are disappointed at its overall showing. The SPD fared even worse, plummeting to the worst result in its modern history.

FDP has 'paid a high price' but 'remains a political factor' Germany's snap election on Sunday was called as a result of Christian Lindner's dismissal as finance minister in November, which led to the collapse of the coalition government led by Olaf Scholz and his Social Democrats (SPD).

While the far right made historic gains in Germany's elections on Sunday, Conservative politician Friedrich Merz won with nearly 29% of the vote.

U.S. President Donald Trump hailed Sunday as a "great day for Germany" after an election in which the centre-right opposition won first place followed by the far-right AfD with its strongest result ever.

President Donald Trump praised German conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz's victory in the national election on Sunday, ousting current Chancellor Olaf Scholz.