AG百家乐在线官网

Thanks for following our live coverage of the German elections. 

According to exit polls, Germany's centre-right CDU/CSU bloc looks set to take home the most votes, with the far-right AfD party projected to finish second.

Here's what that means:

• The CDU/CSU projected victory means its highly likely that Friedrich Merz will become the next chancellor;
• Incumbent Olaf Scholz of the SPD conceded the election shortly after the exit poll was published;
• A coalition will now need to be formed - which could take weeks;
• Despite looking likely to have the second-most votes, no party will form a coalition with the far-right AfD party because of a pact known as the "firewall";
• The AfD's leader said she felt the party could take on the CDU and beat it in a future election;
• Donald Trump hailed a "great day for Germany" as the exit poll was released. 

Dive deeper by reading some analysis from our Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins. 

If you want to learn more about why how the far-right rose to prominence in Germany, you can watch Siobhan's other piece here:

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has joined world leaders in offering congratulations to Friedrich Merz - the man expected to become Germany's next chancellor.

"I look forward to working with the new government to deepen our already strong relationship, enhance our joint security and deliver growth for both our countries," Sir Keir said.

By Siobhan Robbins, Europe correspondent 

While people took in the horror of another car ramming attack, they became acutely aware that voters will soon go to the polls in an election where the far-right is currently in second place.

An attack in Aschaffenburg that killed two in January, where the suspect was also an Afghan man, meant the election debate was already firmly fixed on the topic of migration - and it's just months since a Saudi doctor was accused of driving his car into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing six and injuring hundreds.

With the traditionally anti-immigration far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) proving popular, the party on track to take tonight's election - the Christian Democrats (CDU) - hardened their position.

Leader Friedrich Merz published a five-point plan which included making border checks permanent and potentially turning away some asylum seekers as they tried to enter.

His draft motion only cleared parliament with the help of AfD votes, breaking a long-standing taboo of not working with the far-right and prompting hundreds of thousands to take to the streets in protest.

Leaders of all parties denounced the suspected attack in Munich and pledged to take tough action, but the pain triggered by the senseless act will only widen divisions in this already divided country.

The leader of the pro-business Free Democratic Party, Christian Lindner, has announced he is leaving active politics. 

The FDP was a partner in Scholz's coalition government until its collapse after the chancellor sacked Lindner as finance minister, paving the way for today's snap election.

According to the latest projections, his party is suffering in the vote and now looks set to not make it into the new parliament.

Current projections suggest it will just fall short of the 5% threshold needed.

In a post on social media he said the election had brought "defeat for the FDP, but hopefully a new start for Germany".

"That is what I fought for," he said.

Reactions are starting to come in from world leaders, with the centre-right conservatives projected to win the election and the far-right AfD in second.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has congratulated Friedrich Merz and the CDU/CSU bloc on their "clear election victory".

NATO secretary general Mark Rutte also offered his congratulations to Merz - who is on track to become Germany's next chancellor.

"Looking forward to working with you in this crucial moment for our shared security," he said. 

"It's vital that Europe step up on defence spending and your leadership will be key."

Earlier, Donald Trump himself hailed today a "great day" for Germany (see 19.23 post). 

A bit more from this evening's on-air debate with German party leaders - where they gave their reaction to the projected results, which put the centre-right CDU/CSU bloc in the lead and far-right AfD party in second.

The CDU's Friedrich Merz promised to try to form a government for the whole of Germany, and has stressed once again that he will not work with the AfD.

The AfD's candidate Alice Weidel said her hand remained "outstretched" to the conservative bloc - and warned that another coalition grouping "will not last".

She said Merz would be an "interim chancellor", and that the AfD will overtake the conservatives in the years to come.

Merz responded saying she could hold out her hand "as much as she liked", but that there were "fundamental differences" between the parties. 

He also repeated he would prefer to form a government with one coalition parliament rather than two - although that will depend on the final election result.

If exit polls are to be believed, the man highly likely to be the next German chancellor has suggested that Europe must step up in the face of mounting pressure from Donald Trump.

Speaking in a post-election panel discussion aired by public broadcasters, Friedrich Merz said he wanted to "strengthen Europe as quickly as possible" in the face of an uncertain relationship with America. 

"I never thought that I would ever need to say something like that, on television, but after the latest statements made by Donald Trump last week... this administration mostly don't care about the fate of Europe one way or another," the CDU leader added.

"The interventions from Washington were no less dramatic and drastic and ultimately outrageous than the interventions we have seen from Moscow," he said, referencing support offered by Elon Musk to Germany's far-right AfD party during the election. 

In a post on social media, he added that his impression from the last few days was that Russia and the US are finding common ground. He said they appear to be going "over the head" of Ukraine - and in doing so going over the heads of Europe.

For that reason, he said, all eyes are on Germany and how quickly a government can be formed. 

Donald Trump himself has hailed today a "great day" for Germany (see 19.23 post). 

The Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) is on track to become the second-largest party in the country following today's elections. 

They have high profile backers like Elon Musk - and could be set for the best result a far-right party has achieved in Germany since the Second World War.

So what is attracting Germans to the far-right?

Sky's Siobhan Robbins takes a close look in this video:

It's been a busy night over in Germany - here's what you need to know.

(Before we round-up the evening's events - if you're not familiar with German politics, it may be worth reading a couple of our short explainers to get up to speed)

According to exit polls, Germany's centre-right CDU/CSU bloc looks set to take home the most votes, with the far-right AfD party projected to finish second.

As of 7pm UK time, broadcaster ARD projects the following:

• Christian Democrats and their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) - 28.6%
• Alternative for Germany (AfD) - 20.4%
• Social Democrats (SPD) - 16.3%
• Greens - 12.3%
• Left Party - 8.5%
• Free Democrats (FDP) - 4.7%
• BSW Party - 4.9%
• Others - 4.3%

With that in mind, here are the other key things you need to be aware of:

• The CDU/CSU projected victory means its highly likely that Friedrich Merz will become the next chancellor;
• Incumbent Olaf Scholz of the SPD conceded the election shortly after the exit poll was published;
• A coalition will now need to be formed - which could take weeks;
• Despite looking likely to have the second-most votes, no party will form a coalition with the far-right AfD party because of a pact known as the "firewall";
• The AfD's leader said she felt the party could take on the CDU and beat it in a future election;
• Donald Trump hailed a "great day for Germany" as the exit poll was released. 

If you want to understand just how well the far-right have done in this election, Europe correspondent Adam Parsons is on hand to explain in this video... 

And if you want to dive a bit deeper, you can read our Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins' analysis here.

And finally, if you want to learn a bit more about the man who is likely to become Germany's next chancellor, you can read a full, in-depth profile of Friedrich Merz written by our right here. 

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said he will not take part in coalition negotiations with the conservative bloc if his SPD party is invited.

"I will not be a SPD representative in a federal government led by the CDU, nor will I negotiate it," said Scholz in a post-election panel discussion aired by public broadcasters. 

Early projections show his party is on course to come in third, behind the CDU/CSU bloc and the far-right AfD.

It would be the party's worst post-war result in a national parliamentary election.

Scholz has conceded defeat after what he called a "bitter election result".

Meanwhile, the leader of the pro-business Free Democratic Party has said he will leave politics if his party does not make it into the new parliament. 

Christian Lindner's FDP was a partner in Scholz's coalition government - and he served as finance minister until its collapse after he was sacked by the chancellor.

It is currently unclear whether the FDP will reach the 5% threshold needed for parties to enter parliament, with current projections showing them just below it.