Germany's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) has claimed victory in the federal election. But with the conservatives also trying to form a government, Merkel's successor is still unclear. The SPD's Olaf Scholz has said his party will likely enter coalition talks with the Greens and the FDP. Olaf Scholz, conservative rival Armin Laschet, remains determined to fight on, as the two parties have governed together for years.
Preliminary results gave his party a narrow election win over the conservatives, who suffered their worst-ever performance. The Greens and pro-business FDP attracted the most support from the under-30s in an election dominated by climate change and differing proposals on tackling it. The Greens made history with almost 15% of the vote, even though it was well short of their ambitions.
Radio Islam International spoke to Prof. Malte Brosig - Associate Professor in International Relations at WITS, to gain a perspective on the elections.