Germany's mainstream conservatives led by Friedrich Merz won the country's national election, ensuring that Ukraine has an even stronger supporter in the European Union's largest country and creating hopes for renewal in an economic powerhouse that has been badly battered in recent years.

German voters cast their ballots in Sunday’s election , with opposition leader Friedrich Merz claiming victory and Chancellor Olaf Scholz conceding defeat. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is heading for the strongest showing for a far-right party since World War II.

A protege of the late Wolfgang Schaeuble, finance minister and icon of German fiscal conservatism, Merz enjoyed a meteoric rise through his Christian Democrats, becoming the party's parliamentary leader in the 2000s.