Germany may face months of uncertainty after the CDU/CSU conservative bloc won the national election but with no clear option for forming a government amid a fragmented political landscape.

The 69-year-old faces lengthy coalition negotiations after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) surged to a historic second place in a fractured vote following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's unloved three-way alliance.

Germany’s conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz said he’ll move quickly to form a new government after he won Sunday’s federal election with a result that will require him to form a coalition.

The far-right AfD and the Left jointly secured the one third of seats needed to block constitutional changes. Both oppose military aid to Ukraine.

German conservative leader Friedrich Merz spent the past two months excoriating the country’s Social Democrats — blaming them for a stagnating economy, uncontrolled illegal migration and the rise of the far-right.