Following his election victory, Germany’s Chancellor-elect Friedrich Merz has called for Europe to break free from US influence. According to an Al Jazeera report, preliminary results show his party secured 28.6% of the vote—the highest, but still requiring coalition partners to form a government. In an interview after the results, Merz declared that his top priority is strengthening Europe to achieve true independence from the US. He added that he did not intend to make such a strong statement initially. Previously, Elon Musk had controversially endorsed the far-right AfD party, which received 20% of the vote—something Merz did not take well.