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.

Friedrich Merz is set to become Germany’s next chancellor after his centre-Right Christian Democratic Union [CDU] party won the election on Sunday night.