Europe must seek to “achieve independence” from the United States, Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said after his opposition conservatives won elections on Sunday, in a vote that also saw surging support for the far-right.

Merz is expected to become the country’s next chancellor after his Christian Democrats secured over 28% of the vote.

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany’s conservative election winner Friedrich Merz said Sunday that Europe must boost its own defence capabilities amid growing US-Europe tensions over Ukraine and NATO funding.