Germany's conservative opposition came out strongest in parliamentary elections on Sunday, exit polls showed, dealing a victory to Friedrich Merz in his bid to succeed Social Democrat Olaf Scholz as the next leader of Europe's largest economy.
Merz's CDU/CSU bloc won first place with 28.5% of the vote, followed by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) with 20%, a record for the far-right party, the public broadcaster ZDF reported.
Scholz's centre-left SPD garnered 16.5% of the vote, its worst-ever result, the projection showed.
