German voters are heading to the polls Sunday for a national election. The race pits the incumbent chancellor against the opposition leader, the vice chancellor and — for the first time — a leader of a far-right party.

Winner Friedrich Merz's conservatives need at least one coalition partner to govern and face potentially months of difficult negotiations before a stable government is likely to emerge.

Friedrich Merz and his party won, Elon Musk didn’t seem to move voters, and more lessons from an early German vote with big implications for Europe.