Provisional results confirmed that mainstream conservatives led by Friedrich Merz won Germany's national election , while far-right party AfD surged to become the nation's second-largest.

Note: Map shows the results of the second vote in each election. Thirty-five years after the reunification of East and West Germany, the country is still divided, and so are its voters.

At the campaign event in Halle, Musk repeated a common trope of his in this election, saying the AfD is Germany’s “best hope” before adding, “it’s good to be proud of German culture ...