Friedrich Merz is set to become the next Chancellor at a time of great tumult at home and abroad, writes John Kampfner.

Germany’s conservative leader Friedrich Merz emerged as the winner in Sunday’s election, but the results gave his bloc just one clear path to power with intense pressure to move quickly to form a government.

Exit polls show the center-right Christian Democratic Union party leading, with the AfD party heading towards the strongest showing of the far-right since World War II.