Europe must seek to “achieve independence” from the United States, Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said after exit polls showed his opposition conservatives were on track to win Sunday’s election,

Merz expressed concern over changing relations with Washington under the Trump administration, emphasizing the need for gradual independence from the U.S.

Germans are going to the polls after an intense election campaign dominated by their country's faltering economy and a succession of deadly attacks that have made migration and security a focal issue.