Europe must seek to “achieve independence” from the United States, Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said after his opposition conservatives won elections on Sunday, in a vote that also saw surging support for the far-right.

The Christian Democratic Union’s likely victory comes despite a strong showing by the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD.

Conservative leader sharply criticizes Trump administration for its attempts to interfere in German elections and also raises the possibility of ‘independent European defense capabilities'