Friedrich Merz, a conservative rival of Angela Merkel, is on track to become the next chancellor, though the far-right AfD is expected to make historic gains.

Germans are going to the polls on Sunday for national elections. Opinion polls suggest the outcome will be a new chancellor and, likely, a new governing coalition.

For the first time since the fall of the Third Reich 80 years ago, there is a real possibility that a party with direct ideological continuity to the Nazis will enter government.

At the heart of the election is the economy, which has been experiencing a downturn. The ruling coalition, comprising the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP),

The conservative CDU/CSU alliance under Friedrich Merz is ahead in the polls, with the far-right Alternative for Germany second and Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats coming third. The conservative CDU/CSU alliance under Friedrich Merz has been consistently polling at first place,