While the far right made historic gains in Germany’s pivotal federal elections on Sunday, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party ultimately thrived with Friedrich Merz securing nearly 29% of the vote and placing him in the top spot to lead the country.

Exit polls show the center-right Christian Democratic Union party leading, with the AfD party heading towards the strongest showing of the far-right since World War II.

The margin of error for individual polls is estimated from the poll’s sample size and the number of eligible German voters reported by the German Federal Statistical Office.

The Christian Democratic Union and its allied Christian Social Union secured the largest share of votes in the German federal election, exit polls show.

European shares were largely unchanged on Monday, while Germany's benchmark index rose as investors greeted the widely expected victory of Friedrich Merz-led opposition conservatives at the national election.

Polls are open across Germany as the world’s third largest economy chooses a new leader to guide it through an era of febrile immigration debates and souring relations with Washington.

But the biggest relief is that the center-left SPD won enough seats in the Bundestag to be able to form a two-party governing coalition with the conservative CDU.