BERLIN, Feb 24, (AP): Provisional results confirmed that mainstream conservatives led by Friedrich Merz won Germany’s national election, while a far-right party surged to become the nation’s second-largest. Merz, who’s promising to unite Europe in the face of challenges from both Russia and the United States, is expected to become the country’s next leader. He'll likely partner with the center left Social Democrats, who suffered a stinging defeat after their coalition collapsed.

But the results were seen a rebuke for mainstream parties as the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany notched its best results ever. The campaign was dominated by worries about the yearslong stagnation of Europe’s biggest economy and pressure to curb migration, something that caused friction after Merz pushed hard in recent weeks for a tougher approach.

It took place against a background of growing uncertainty over the future of Ukraine and Europe’s alliance with the United States. The results released by the electoral authority showed Merz’s Christian Democrats and the center-left Social Democrats winning a combined majority of seats in the national legislature after small parties failed to make the electoral threshold.

Merz said on election night that he hopes to form a government by Easter at the latest. He has ruled out a coalition with the far-right AfD, which is now the country’s second-largest party. For the time being, outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose Social Democratic party suffered a stinging defeat, will stay on as head of a caretaker government. Merz’s conservatives won 208 seats in the 630-seat Bundestag, while the AfD won 152.

The three parties in the former governing coalition lost seats, with the SDP falling to 120 seats and the Greens to 85. The pro-business Free Democrats, which triggered early elections by pulling out of the coalition, failed to reach the 5% of the vote required to win seats. The Left party got 64 seats, while the left-wing Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance came in just under the 5% hurdle.

The AfD was jubilant on Sunday night, with leaders vowing to become the country’s main party in the next election as its appeal expands. The anti-immigrant, far-right party has established itself as a significant political force in the 12 years since it was founded, but it hasn’t yet been part of any state or national government. That’s the result of what is often called a "firewall” against Alternative for Germany.