Friedrich Merz's conservative party is the winner of the German general election, while current Chancellor Olaf Scholz's party experienced its worst result since the late 19th century. Photo: Ina Fass

The 69-year-old faces lengthy coalition negotiations after the far-right AfD surged to a historic second place in a fractured vote following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's unloved three-way alliance.

Friedrich Merz faces complex coalition negotiations after the far-right AfD surged to a historic second place in a fractured vote after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's unloved three-way alliance.

That paves the way for their candidate, Friedrich Merz (pictured), to take over from Olaf Scholz as chancellor after coalition talks. The second is that the hard-right Alternative for Germany ( A f D) had surged to its best-ever result,

BERLIN (Reuters) -German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his likely successor, Friedrich Merz, promised no collaboration with the extreme right on Tuesday in speeches to parliament before national elections on February 23.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his top rival, the opposition frontrunner Friedrich Merz, cast their votes on Sunday morning (February 23) in a national election that is expected to restore power to Merz's conservatives,

Friedrich Merz has criticized Olaf Scholz on the economy, but experts question if a government led by the Christian Democratic Union would fare much better.

Conservative leader Friedrich Merz won the German election, defeating Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his Social Democrats. Merz says he wants to form a government within two months, saying he wants to strengthen Europe to have “real independence” from the US.

That paves the way for their candidate, Friedrich Merz (pictured), to take over from Olaf Scholz as chancellor after coalition talks. The second was that the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) had surged to its best-ever score,

Election campaign posters showing German Social Democratic Party, SPD, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, top, and his challenger Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union party, CDU,

Friedrich Merz’s conservatives triumphed in Germany’s elections, obtaining over 28% of the vote, as the far-right AfD gained over 20%. Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD suffered a historic defeat with just 16%,