The Christian Democrats won with 28.6% of the vote while the far-right Alternative for Germany came second with 20.8%.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured approximately 20.8% of the vote in the 2025 elections, becoming the second-largest party. Their success is attributed to significant regional support, endorsements from Elon Musk,

The Christian Democratic Union and its allied Christian Social Union secured the largest share of votes in the German federal election, exit polls show.

Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative CDU/CSU bloc, has said "from tomorrow we start working" on forming a government as the far-right AfD won its best-ever results.

With 28.6% of the vote, the CDU/CSU came out on top, ahead of the AfD, with 20.8% of the vote. CDU leader Friedrich Merz, who has ruled out any alliance with the far right, will likely be able to avoid having to form a three-party coalition.

CDU/CSU secured 28.6 percent of the vote, followed by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) with 20.8 percent and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) with 16.4 percent, according to the preliminary results released by the Federal Returning Officer in the early hours of Monday.

Concern is growing over the far-right Alternative for Germany party’s rise ahead of the German election. Its U.S. supporters include Elon Musk and JD Vance.

Alice Weidel, has vowed to "chase" the country's other parties if her party goes into opposition. The CDU/CSU centre-right bloc is leading according to initial projects, and its leader Friedrich Merz has repeatedly ruled out a coalition with the AfD.