STORY
Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, has won the German elections with 29% of the vote, although will need to enter talks to form a coalition. Merz, the likely next Chancellor of Germany, posted on X (formerly known as Twitter):
“Three years of Russian war of aggression against the #Ukraine . Three years of war in Europe. For three years, we have been accompanied by the terrible images of destruction and war crimes. Europe remains firmly on the side of Ukraine. Now more than ever, we must put Ukraine in a position of strength. For a just peace, the attacked country must be part of peace negotiations.”
He said that since the election of Donald Trump as US President the country had become “largely indifferent” to Europe and that Germany must be part of a strengthened Europe which can “achieve real independence from the US step by step”. The far-right Alternative for Germany party nearly doubled its result in the election, securing 20.8%, but Merz has already ruled out forming a coalition with the party.