Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s CDU, is set to form a coalition after winning the most votes, per exit polls. The election saw Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats (SPD) suffer a historic defeat and AfD make record gains.
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.
Germany has long been considered to have relatively ambitious climate goals and it’s likely that combatting climate change will remain a priority.