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 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

The contenders in Germany's election made their final appeals to voters Saturday, with opposition leader and front-runner Friedrich Merz vowing to revive the stagnant economy and defend Europe's interests in the face of a confrontational U.

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.

The far-right had its strongest showing since World War II, while the center-left Social Democrats had their worst postwar result.

Friedrich Merz's conservatives (CDU/CSU) are set to win Sunday’s national election in Germany, but in second place, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won its best result yet in Europe's ailing economic powerhouse.

Polls have opened in Germany's parliamentary election that was brought forward by the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz' ruling coalition in November. Polls opened at 8 a.m. and are set to close at 6 p.

Germany's mainstream conservatives have won the country's national election, while a far-right party surged to become the country's second-largest party.

The leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the second largest party in parliament after Sunday's election, said Germany's likely next chancellor would be held hostage by left-wing parties that would seek to loosen tough fiscal rules.