BERLIN: Friedrich Merz, set to become Germany's next chancellor after his opposition conservatives won the national election on Sunday (Feb 23), vowed to help give Europe "real independence" from the US as he prepared to cobble together a government.
Merz, 69, faces complex and lengthy coalition negotiations after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) surged to a historic second place in a fractured vote after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's unloved three-way alliance.
