Conservative leader Friedrich Merz won a lackluster victory, while Chancellor Olaf Scholz conceded his center-left Social Democrat party’s worst postwar defeat.

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.

Germany's opposition conservatives CDU/CSU won the national election on Sunday, putting leader Friedrich Merz on track to be the next chancellor while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD)came in second,

The Sunday vote comes amid an economy in the doldrums, big questions over Europe's security posture, and a surging far-right.

An economic slump, an immigration crisis and the lifting of a security blanket provided for decades by the U.S. are issues on the minds of German voters. The far-right AfD is polling in second place.

Polls have opened in Germany's parliamentary election that was brought forward by the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz' ruling coalition in November. Polls opened at 8 a.m. and are set to close at 6 p.

Voting started for the general election in Germany on Sunday, which opinion polls suggest will bring a new chancellor and a new governing coalition, CNN reported.Earlier in November, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) fired his finance minister.