Germany’s political system is set up to exclude extremists. Yet the country is waking up to a new political reality that has lurched to the right with the once outcast Alternative for Germany (AfD) party now firmly established in German politics.

Friedrich Merz looks poised to form a coalition between his center-right alliance and the center-left Social Democrats, but Germany is facing political uncertainty with an emboldened far right. The

Polls are open across Germany as the world’s third largest economy chooses a new leader to guide it through an era of febrile immigration debates and souring relations with Washington.

Germany faces its second change of leader in less than four years after the head of the center-right opposition won Sunday’s election.

An election win for Germany's conservatives has eased concerns of political gridlock in Europe's biggest economy, though it failed to lift uncertainty around whether a new government can deliver fiscal reforms that would boost sluggish growth.