Negotiators from German election winner Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc and the center-left Social Democrats have started exploratory talks on a possible coalition government.

Germany’s conservatives won the national election on Sunday, while the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party nearly doubled its share of the vote from the last election to secure a strong second-place finish. Nuclear energy may be the big winner.

The leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the second largest party in parliament after Sunday's election, said Germany's likely next chancellor would be held hostage by left-wing parties that would seek to loosen tough fiscal rules.

German voters cast their ballots in Sunday’s election, with opposition leader Friedrich Merz claiming victory and Chancellor Olaf Scholz conceding defeat. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is heading for the strongest showing for a far-right party since World War II.

Germany's conservative leader Friedrich Merz, who came out on top in the snap election results, is aiming to close a coalition agreement with outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz's SPD, which came third in the elections.

Hours after Friedrich Merz's conservatives won Germany's national election, he sent the outgoing Social Democrat government a memorandum dictating how to cooperate during the transition period before he took power.

Friedrich Merz has vowed to prioritize European unity and the continent's security as it grapples with the new Trump administration and Russia's war on Ukraine​.