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.

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.

Merz expressed concern over changing relations with Washington under the Trump administration, emphasizing the need for gradual independence from the U.S.

Friedrich Merz's CDU party emerged as the largest party in Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, earning 28.6% of the vote.

Friedrich Merz — the leader of the victorious Christian Democratic Union-Christian Social Union alliance — is a U.S.-loving former lawyer but he may clash with President Donald Trump, as Merz is a fierce defender of Europe and NATO.