Germany's mainstream conservatives won the country's national election, while a far-right party surged to become the nation’s second-largest party, according to provisional results following Sunday’s election.

Germany's conservative CDU leader Friedrich Merz welcomed on Monday the interest shown by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in improving ties with Europe, adding that the two had spoken several time in the last few weeks.

Friedrich Merz is on course to become post-World War II Germany’s 10th chancellor, the culmination of a yearslong political career that was once sidelined by his party’s iconic leader

Germany's opposition conservatives won the national election on Sunday, putting leader Friedrich Merz on track to be the next chancellor while the far-right Alternative for Germany came in second on its best ever result,

German voters cast their ballots in Sunday’s election, and early exit poll data shows opposition leader Friedrich Merz’s conservatives in the lead. It also indicates that Alternative for Germany is heading for the strongest showing for a far-right party since World War II.