Germany’s mainstream conservatives led by Friedrich Merz won the country’s national election, ensuring that Ukraine has an even stronger supporter in the European Union’s largest country and

However, reunification in 1990 allowed Angela Merkel, the East German daughter of a protestant pastor, to enter politics and elbow both Schaeuble and Merz aside on her rise to become chancellor.

Europe must seek to “achieve independence” from the United States, Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said after his opposition conservatives won elections on Sunday, in a vote that also saw surging support for the far-right.