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International Business Times
International Business Times
Business

Conservative Merz Leads Germany's Turbulent Election Race

Friedrich Merz Donald Trump AFD Germany Olaf Scholz Alice Weidel CDU Christian Lindner JD Vance SPD
CDU leader Friedrich Merz before a slogan that reads 'Forward Again', at an election rally in Halle, eastern German on February 18, 2025 (Credit: AFP)

When Germans vote on Sunday, conservative Friedrich Merz is the strong favourite to become the next chancellor after a bitterly fought campaign roiled by the rise of the AfD, a far-right party vocally backed by Team Trump.

Barring any last-minute upset, the CDU/CSU bloc of Merz is leading the polls and on course to defeat Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) to make the 69-year-old former investment lawyer the next leader of Europe's biggest economy.

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