Image source, Reuters

Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats fell to third place in the election results, polling just 16.4%.

Scholz said the election results were a bitter defeat for the party, and his party would enter coalition talks with the victorious CDU/CSU without him.

The failure of the incumbent party to secure another term in power reflects an international trend, and follows changes or challenges to governments across the world.

For example, in the US President Trump lost a re-election bid in 2020 but returned to power in January, and France has seen numerous knocks to President Macron's authority, with his Prime Minister Michel Barnier forced out of office in December. And of course in the UK last year Labour ended 14 years of Conservative rule.

On the morning after his win, Friedrich Merz marks the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"Three years of war in Europe. For three years, we have been accompanied by the terrible images of destruction and war crimes," Merz posted on X.

He adds that Europe remains firmly on the side of Ukraine.

"Now more than ever, we must put Ukraine in a position of strength. For a just peace, the attacked country must be part of peace negotiations."

• You can follow our live coverage: Three years since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine

Jess Parker
Berlin correspondent

Image source, Alamy

Friedrich Merz - leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) - is set to become Germany's next Chancellor.

Described by his supporters as an antidote to Europe's crisis of confidence, Merz, 69, is a familiar face to his party's old guard.

Merz was born in the west German town of Brilon in 1955 into a prominent conservative, Catholic family. His father served as a local judge, as does Friedrich Merz's wife Charlotte to this day.

The younger Merz joined the CDU while still at school.

In an interview 25 years ago with German newspaper Tagesspiegel he laid claim to a wilder youth than his strait-laced CV might suggest.

After school, he went on to military service before studying law and marrying fellow student Charlotte Gass in 1981.

For a few years, Merz worked as a lawyer but he always had his eye on politics and was elected to the European Parliament in 1989, aged 33. He rose through the ranks, touted as a talent on the party's more right-wing, traditionalist faction.

Merz eventually left politics in 2009, several years after rival Angela Merkel won the CDU party's leadership. He made three attempts to lead his party - his first two failures were in 2018 and January 2021.

• You can find out more about Germany's next leader Friedrich Merz: The risk-taker who flirted with far right

As Germany absorbs the results of Sunday's election, attention will now turn to the formation of a new government.

Coalition forming is the norm for Germany and if the biggest party can secure a coalition deal with one or two other parties, the president will usually nominate its leader as chancellor. Then parliament will hold a secret ballot to decide.

Today, election winner Friedrich Merz will want to discuss the next steps on the way to forming a government with the leadership of his Christian Democrats party and plans to hold a news conference this afternoon.

The Social Democrats, whose chancellor Olaf Scholz was voted out of office, will also meet this morning for consultations.

Among other things, they are likely to discuss the new personnel line-up announced by party leader Lars Klingbeil on election night. Scholz, Klingbeil and party co-leader Saskia Esken have also called a press conference for later today.

Germany's next leader, Friedrich Merz, has issued a stark warning to Europe that the United States has become "largely indifferent" to the continent's fate and it must become independent.

He also criticised interference from US officials in Sunday's election, which his conservative CDU/CSU party won, after the Trump administration and Elon Musk supported the far-right AfD.

Merz told a roundtable TV discussion on Sunday night that his "absolute priority" would be to "strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that we can achieve real independence from the US step by step".

The result was however hailed by President Trump, who posted on social media that it was "a great day for Germany".

Andrew Humphrey
Live reporter

Welcome back to our live coverage after Germany's Christian Democrats (CDU) topped Sunday's elections.

Leader Friedrich Merz will be preparing to head a coalition government after his conservative party won 28.6% of the vote.

"Let's celebrate tonight and in the morning we'll get to work," he told cheering supporters after the win.

Merz has ruled out working with the AfD, the far-right Alternative for Germany who came second on 20.8%, and is likely to form an alliance with outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats.

Talks, which could take days or weeks to formalise the new government, will begin today, and we'll bring you the latest developments here.

The conservatives won, the far right came second and now attention will turn to forming a coalition.

At the same time, today's election results saw the bitter defeat of outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz's party and the resignation of the man responsible for the snap elections. His FDP party failed to get into parliament.

We're now pausing our live coverage of the German federal elections, but fear not, there's plenty to read.

Read our news story with a detailed account of what just happened, and our Berlin correspondent's assessment of the challenges ahead for Friedrich Merz.

Thanks for joining us.

Friedrich Merz's conservatives have won the German election with 28.6%.

Counting of votes has been finished and the results confirm that Alternative for Germany (AfD) is second, the Social Democrats (SPD) third and Greens fourth.

Two smaller parties which came close to reaching the 5% threshold have failed to get into parliament. For hours, it was thought that the left-populist BSW might scrape in.

Because there are only five parties in parliament that gives Friedrich Merz a better chance of forming a coalition with one other party, most likely to be the Social Democrats (SPD).

Image source, Reuters

It's late at night in Germany now, and here's the latest state of play:

• The conservative CDU/CSU party has won the German election, and its leader, Friedrich Merz, is expected to be the next chancellor
• Merz told his party: "Tonight we will be celebrating and as of tomorrow, we will be resuming our work"
• He hopes to form a government by Easter - an ambitious timeline, political observers say
• The far-right AfD party is second. Its leader Alice Weidel claimed it was a "historic result" as the party has made enormous gains since the 2021 election
• Friedrich Merz has ruled out working with the AfD
• Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the election result as "bitter" after his party, the Social Democrats (SPD) was projected to come third
• He told supporters in Berlin that "we are fighting for democracy" and will "never accept" the "good election result" AfD has received tonight

Image source, Reuters

More older people voted in today's election, according to political scientist Nicolai von Ondarza from the Europe Programme at think tank Chatham House.

He says the AfD "gained in the youth vote, but the big winner there was Die Linke [The Left]", adding that the AfD gained the most from "mobilising non-voters as well as the centre-right".

The results also show "how unhappy Germans were with what was on offer," Von Ondarza adds.

Image source, EPA

During a TV debate earlier, Friedrich Merz said he believed that Europe must boost its own defence capabilities as tension grows with the US over Ukraine and Nato funding.

Merz said he had "no illusions at all about what is coming out of America", in reference to Donald Trump's administration.

"I am very curious to see what will happen between now and the Nato summit at the end of June," he said.

But he added that it was questionable "whether we will still be talking about Nato in its current form or whether we will have to establish an independent European defence capability much more quickly".

Image source, Getty Images

More messages are coming in from European leaders.

"I look forward to working with the new government to deepen our already strong relationship, enhance our joint security and deliver growth for both our countries," UK PM Sir Keir Starmer posted on X.

French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Merz on his party's win, saying he looked forward to working together for a "strong and sovereign Europe".

"In this period of uncertainty, we are united to face the great challenges of the world and of our continent," he posted on X.

Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis posted: "A decisive victory for our political family, for Germany, and for Europe."

Image source, EPA

About 27% of first-time voters cast ballots for Die Linke (The Left), according to German media outlet Die Zeit.

It says the party's co-leader Heidi Reichinnek became an icon for many young left-leaning voters during the election campaign. She told the BBC earlier today that she used TikTok to reach young people.

Die Zeit reports that about 21% of young voters put AfD on their ballots, and 12% for CDU/CSU - which, compared with the 2021 election, was an increase of 2% for the CDU/CSU and a 14% rise for AfD.

"It is interesting that many young AfD voters do not see themselves as extreme right-wing, but as conservative centre," says the German media outlet's youth researcher Simon Schnetzer.

Merz wants Germany to lead on the European and world stagepublished at 23:18 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February

23:18 GMT 23 February

Katya Adler
BBC Europe editor in Berlin

Image source, EPA

Friedrich Merz is somebody who says Germany belongs back on the European and world stage.

Europe, when it looks out there, sees a really unstable world, a frightening world, normally able to rely on its greatest ally the United States, but no longer can with Donald Trump back in the White House.

Merz has pointed to the two other big European leaders - France's Emmanuel Macron and the UK's Keir Starmer. They are heading to Washington this week and Merz says, by right, Germany should be there.

So, he's in a hurry.

As long as Merz is trying to build this coalition, Germany will be distracted and he wants it back doing business for Germany and for the rest of Europe.

Merz wants to work with the UK, France and the European allies. It's not Germany for Germany - that was the slogan of the AfD party - this is Germany for Europe in Europe.

The CDU foreign affairs spokesman has been speaking to BBC's Newshour.

Jurgen Hardt said that putting together a coalition might prove "very difficult" because they won't work with the AfD, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) could drop out of parliament altogether.

"A coalition between Social Democrats, Greens, and CDU might be very difficult in some fields - not in foreign and security policy, but in other fields," he said.

The AfD's deputy parliamentary leader Beatrix Von Storch said the new government will not be able to deliver what the people voted for.

"This is what the CDU was campaigning on, they promised to make our borders safe," she says.

A coalition including the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens is "going to be impossible", she said.

"They can't deliver what they promised in the whole campaign and so people will get desperate. I think the new upcoming government will not last for four years, I think it's very unlikely that that happens - and then we will have a re-election in one or two years."

Image source, Reuters

We're now getting some reaction from Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He starts by congratulating the CDU and its leader, Friedrich Merz, on his projected election victory in a post on X, external.

Zelensky says he looks forward to "continuing our joint work with Germany to protect lives" and "bring real peace closer to Ukraine" - referring to Germany's support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

"Europe must be able to defend itself, develop its industries, and achieve the necessary results," he says.

"Europe needs shared successes, and those success will bring even greater unity to Europe."

For context:Germany, after the US, has been the biggest donor of military aid to Ukraine and most political parties in Germany are in favour of continuing to support Kyiv. But the AfD instead wants a rapprochement with Russia, to immediately stop sending weapons to Ukraine, and to use resources instead to build up Germany's armed forces for protection at home.

Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor in Berlin

Image source, EPA

It was Christian Lindner's refusal to compromise on loosening Germany's debt rules that finally triggered the collapse of the three-party government late last year.

He was also bringing an end to his own career in politics, because his economic liberal party, the Free Democratic Party (FDP), has fared so badly in today's election that it looks like it's heading out of parliament, falling below the 5% of the vote required.

In a post on social media, Lindner said the election had brought defeat for the FDP but hopefully a new beginning for Germany. And after 25 years in politics it was time for him to go.

Earlier this evening, outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described his party's "bitter" defeat in the election.

The conservative CDU party is set to be the largest in the next parliament with 28.5% of the vote, projections show.

Scholz's Social Democratic Party is heading for a historically low result with just 16% of the vote, according to the first projection from German public broadcaster ARD.

Speaking to SPD's supporters, Scholz urged the country move forward together.

• As a reminder:Scholz lost a vote of confidence in parliament in December, about two months after the collapse of his three-party coalition government. He calculated that triggering an early election was his best chance of reviving his party's political fortunes, but the SPD has not enjoyed much success today.

Mark Rutte, Dutch politician and Nato secretary general, says on X, external he's "looking forward" to working with Friedrich Merz, adding that it's "vital" Europe steps up on defence spending "and your leadership will be key".

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has congratulated Merz, saying that "in uncertain times we need a strong Europe and a strong Germany"., external

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X , externalthat he's "looking forward to working closely with your upcoming government to further strengthen the partnership between our two countries".

US President Donald Trump says on Truth Social, external that it "looks like the conservative party in Germany has won", describing it as a "great day for Germany" and adding that he thinks "the people of Germany got tired of the no common sense agenda".

Merz has few choices for government - AfD isn't one of thempublished at 21:46 Greenwich Mean Time 23 February

21:46 GMT 23 February

Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor in Berlin

Alternative for Germany (AfD) is now on course to win 20.5% of the vote, according to latest projections - but there is no way Friedrich Merz will work with it because of a long-standing political taboo against working with the far right, known as a Brandmauer - a firewall.

Merz said tonight that Alice Weidel's AfD didn't actually want to solve Germany's problems - "they're happy if the problems get worse and worse".

So who can he work with? The Social Democrats are the obvious choice although they'd have to find tough compromises on the economy and migration.

But if he needs the Greens, he'll have to overcome a lot of animosity between the two parties. Merz has spent the past few weeks criticising Greens leader Robert Habeck, and Markus Söder, the head of the Christian Democrats' sister party in Bavaria, had until this point ruled out any kind of deal.

Söder's still not keen, but he's left the door open, saying he doesn't want to tell Merz what to do, while adding that "a government without the Greens would be a better government".