Merz prioritizes Ukraine and US, vows to tackle migration and economy after German election win BERLIN (AP) — Provisional results confirm that mainstream conservatives led by Friedrich Merz won Germany's national election,

Election posters showing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and CDU top candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

People hold signs in support of German conservative candidate for chancellor and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party leader Friedrich Merz, during the 2025 general election, at the CDU party headquarters in Berlin,

Germany's conservative election frontrunner Friedrich Merz pledged a stronger role for Berlin in the EU and muscular support for Ukraine as he outlined his foreign policy vision at the Munich

Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union is expected to be Germany's next chancellor. Rob Schmitz is NPR's international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future.

BERLIN — Germany’s conservatives won the national election on Sunday but a fractured vote handed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) its best ever result in second place and left conservative leader Friedrich Merz facing messy coalition talks.

Friedrich Merz leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), receives flowers as he arrives for a leaders meeting at the CDU's headquarters, in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Feb.

People watch a tv discussion with Friedrich Merz, leader of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU), at a pub in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after the German national

Friedrich Merz, the candidate of the mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union party, gestures while addressing supporters at the party headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025,