Friedrich Merz is poised to become Germany’s next chancellor after exit polls predicted a convincing victory for his centre-Right Christian Democratic Union [CDU] party, alongside a nationalist surge.

The exit poll said Mr Merz’s CDU had won 29 per cent of the vote, while Alternative for Germany [AfD] secured 19.5 per cent, making a far-Right party the main opposition for the first time since the Nazis.

The unprecedented result for the AfD doubled its vote share from the last election in 2021. It reflected a bitter two-month campaign fought largely over mass migration and against the background of a string of terror attacks blamed on asylum seekers.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-Left Social Democratic Party [SPD] was projected to come a distant third place at 16 per cent, the worst result in the party’s history. It all but guarantees that he will soon stand down after overseeing a slump in Germany’s economy, partly caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.