February 24, 2025 9:04 AM

German election victor Friedrich Merz plans pivot from US as coalition talks loom

Friedrich Merz, set to become Germany's next chancellor after his opposition conservatives won the national election on Sunday, vowed to help give Europe "real independence" from the U.S. as he prepared to cobble together a government. Merz, 69, faces complex and lengthy coalition negotiations after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) surged to a historic second place in a fractured vote after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's unloved three-way alliance. Mainstream parties...