Germany faces its second change of leader in less than four years after the head of the center-right opposition won Sunday’s election.

Maps show how every district in Germany voted. The conservative Christian Democrats have won the most seats while the far-right AfD placed second.

The results of Germany’s February 23 election have cemented a chilling trend that has increasingly characterized European politics in the 21st century: the collapse of social democracy and the subsequent resurgence of far right parties and movements,

The far-right had its strongest showing since World War II, while the center-left Social Democrats had their worst postwar result.

Friedrich Merz is poised to become Germany’s next chancellor, but his victory may not deliver the stability many voters had hoped for. The 2025 election marks a major turning point for Germany, with a sharp rightward shift and the collapse of the center-left.

Here are five key takeaways. Look at an election results map of Germany, and you could almost have travelled back in time to the Cold War, when an iron curtain divided communist East Germany from the west.

Friedrich Merz is on course to become post-World War II Germany’s 10th chancellor, the culmination of a yearslong political career that was once sidelined by his party’s iconic leader

German voters cast their ballots in Sunday’s election , with opposition leader Friedrich Merz claiming victory and Chancellor Olaf Scholz conceding defeat. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is heading for the strongest showing for a far-right party since World War II.

Friedrich Merz, a man who has never held a government role, is preparing to take the reins in Germany just as the country faces its biggest economic and diplomatic crises in decades and Europe looks urgently for a new generation of leaders for an era of transatlantic tension.