Friedrich Merz's CDU party emerged as the largest party in Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, earning 28.6% of the vote.
Germany faces its second change of leader in less than four years after the head of the center-right opposition won Sunday’s election.
Friedrich Merz, likely Germany's next chancellor, said he was under "no illusions" about the White House's impact on campaigning as the far-right AfD surged to a historic high.
The election results mark a turning point in German politics. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) suffered a heavy defeat, recording their worst result in postwar history