FDP has 'paid a high price' but 'remains a political factor' Germany's snap election on Sunday was called as a result of Christian Lindner's dismissal as finance minister in November, which led to the collapse of the coalition government led by Olaf Scholz and his Social Democrats (SPD).

The conservative CDU/CSU bloc emerged as the winner of Sunday's parliamentary elections in Germany, securing 28.6% of the vote, the dpa agency reported, citing preliminary official data released overnight from Sunday to Monday by the Federal Election Commission.

Germany's centre-right CDU/CSU bloc has won national elections by a large margin, with all constituencies counted, paving the way for leader Friedrich Merz to be the next chancellor, as could be seen on the website of the federal returning officer.