Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz calls for European 'independence from US' as he blasts Trump and Musk

The man set to become Germany’s next chancellor has blasted the Trump administration and urged Europe to distance itself from Washington as his conservative party was confirmed to have won the country’s general election. Friedrich Merz sharply criticised US President Donald Trump’s chief confidante Elon Musk for meddling in the German election campaign after the tech billionaire publicly backed the far-right AfD, saying it was the only party that “can save Germany”.

He called the “intervention” from Washington “no less drastic, dramatic, and ultimately no less brazen, than the intervention that we have seen from Moscow”. Mr Merz’s centre-right CDU/CSU block won 208 seats in the 630-seat Bundestag following Sunday’s election.

The Alternative for Germany stormed to second place, winning 152 seats after securing around 20% of the vote - a best-ever showing for the anti-immigration party since its formation in 2013. The incumbent Social Democrats won 120 seats and the Left party got 64.

Mr Merz said on election night that he hopes to form a government by Easter at the latest - and has ruled out a coalition with the AfD as part of a long-running mainstream party pact in Germany known as the “firewall”. The campaign was dominated by worries about the years-long stagnation of Europe’s biggest economy and pressure to curb migration, something that caused friction after Mr Merz pushed hard in recent weeks for a tougher approach.

It took place against a background of growing uncertainty over the future of Ukraine and Europe’s alliance with the United States. In his first post-election interview, Mr Merz said: “I am communicating closely with a lot of prime ministers, and heads of EU states and for me it is an absolute priority to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible, so that we achieve independence from the US, step by step.

“I never thought that I would ever need to say something like that, on television, but after the latest statements made by Donald Trump last week, it is clear, that the Americans — at any case these Americans, this administration — mostly don’t care about the fate of Europe one way or another.”.

The results released by the electoral authority showed Mr Merz’s Christian Democrats and the centre-left Social Democrats winning a combined majority of seats in the national legislature after small parties failed to make the electoral threshold. That gives Mr Merz the best chance of becoming the country’s next chancellor.

For the time being outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose SPD party suffered a stinging defeat, will remain in office. The election took place seven months earlier than originally planned after Mr Scholz’s unpopular coalition collapsed in November, three years into a term that was increasingly marred by infighting.

There was widespread discontent and not much enthusiasm for any of the candidates. “I am aware of the responsibility,” Mr Merz said on Sunday evening. “I am also aware of the scale of the task that now lies ahead of us. I approach it with the utmost respect, and I know that it will not be easy.”.

“The world out there isn’t waiting for us, and it isn’t waiting for long-drawn-out coalition talks and negotiations,” he told cheering supporters. Mr Trump said it was a “great day” for Germany after exit polls on Sunday evening showed the CDU/CSU bloc in the lead.

He wrote on Truth Social that the “people of Germany got tired of the no common sense agenda, especially on energy and immigration”. Alice Weidel, the AfD’s co-leader and chancellor nominee, hailed her party’s results and said “our hand remains outstretched to form a government”.

Keir Starmer was among a host of international leaders congratulating Mr Merz on the election result early on Monday. The UK Prime Minister said: “Congratulations to Friedrich Merz and CDU/CSU for the results in Germany’s election. “I look forward to working with the new government to deepen our already strong relationship, enhance our joint security and deliver growth for both our countries.”.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “I congratulate the CDU/CSU and Friedrich Merz on their victory in the Bundestag elections. A clear voice from the voters, and we see how important this is for Europe. “We look forward to continuing our joint work with Germany to protect lives, bring real peace closer to Ukraine, and strengthen Europe.