Negotiators from German election winner Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc and the center-left Social Democrats have started exploratory talks on a possible coalition government.

Hours after Friedrich Merz's conservatives won Germany's national election, he sent the outgoing Social Democrat government a memorandum dictating how to cooperate during the transition period before he took power.

Provisional results confirm that mainstream conservatives led by Friedrich Merz won Germany's national election, while a far-right party surged to become the nation’s second-largest.

German voters cast their ballots in Sunday’s election, with opposition leader Friedrich Merz claiming victory and Chancellor Olaf Scholz conceding defeat. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is heading for the strongest showing for a far-right party since World War II.

Paula Newton speaks with David Broder, the Europe Editor at Jacobin, and Constanze Stelzenmüller, Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution, about the results of the German elections.

Friedrich Merz is set to become the next Chancellor at a time of great tumult at home and abroad, writes John Kampfner.

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​.

Such talks often drag on for weeks if not months in Germany, but Merz is in a hurry to reach a deal with Europe's biggest economy facing economic malaise and an upheaval in relations with the U.S.