Germany’s conservative Christian Democrat-led bloc secured 208 out of 630 seats in the lower house of parliament, meaning its leader, Friedrich Merz, will have to navigate complicated coalition negotiations to secure a Bundestag majority of at least 316 seats.

Germany is at a crossroads and now for Friedrich Merz the hard work begins, writes Berlin correspondent Jessica Parker.

Friedrich Merz's CDU party emerged as the largest party in Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, earning 28.6% of the vote.

He has vowed to prioritize European unity and the continent’s security as it grapples with the new Trump administration and Russia’s war on Ukraine.

A series of attacks helped fuel debate about immigration in the weeks before German voters cast their ballots for a new Parliament.

Germany's likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday he had invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit and would find a way for him to do so without being arrested under a warrant by the International Criminal Court.