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.

The success of the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is a sign of the times. Across Europe, far-right parties once on the fringe have gone mainstream.

Elon Musk has continued his public association with Germany ’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, sending a congratulatory post on X to the party’s co-chair Alice Weidel following the election results last night in Germany. In the post, Musk quoted Hungarian president Viktor Orbán who sent his own message of support to the AfD.