Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) said on Wednesday they had agreed to start talks on a possible coalition with Friedrich Merz's conservatives but stressed their support was not automatic and hit out at his negotiating style.

Conservative leader Friedrich Merz says he aiming to close a coalition agreement with the SPD in a "short time." Meanwhile, talks are ongoing on how to increase defense spending. DW has the latest.

The leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the second largest party in parliament after Sunday's election, said Germany's likely next chancellor would be held hostage by left-wing parties that would seek to loosen tough fiscal rules.

Germany's mainstream conservatives have won the country's national election, while a far-right party surged to become the country's second-largest party.

Germany's election winner Friedrich Merz wants to form a government quickly in order to revive a moribund economy, hike defence spending and tackle diplomatic challenges ranging from a confrontational Trump administration to ending the Ukraine war.

Friedrich Merz is poised to become Germany’s next chancellor, but his victory may not deliver the stability many voters had hoped for. The 2025 election marks a major turning point for Germany, with a sharp rightward shift and the collapse of the center-left.

Here are five key takeaways. Look at an election results map of Germany, and you could almost have travelled back in time to the Cold War, when an iron curtain divided communist East Germany from the west.