Friedrich Merz and his party won, Elon Musk didn’t seem to move voters, and more lessons from an early German vote with big implications for Europe.

Sunday’s election comes as Germany and the rest of Europe grapple with the new Trump administration, the Russia-Ukraine war and security across the continent. Polls across Germany will close at 6 p.m.

Friedrich Merz's conservatives (CDU/CSU) are set to win Sunday’s national election in Germany, but in second place, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won its best result yet in Europe's ailing economic powerhouse.

The 69-year-old head of the centre-right Union bloc, which won the country's national election with 28.6 per cent of the votes, has by far the best chance of forming a new government.

Germany’s centre-right leader Friedrich Merz won federal elections on Sunday, clearing his path to become Chancellor at a time of economic and political upheaval for Europe’s biggest democracy. Merz’s CDU/CSU secured around 29 per cent of the vote,