BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany’s conservative election winner Friedrich Merz said Sunday that Europe must boost its own defence capabilities amid growing US-Europe tensions over Ukraine and NATO funding.

“For me, the absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA in defence matters,” Merz said.

Merz, leader of the CDU/CSU alliance, said he had “no illusions at all about what is coming out of America”.

“I am very curious to see what will happen between now and the NATO summit at the end of June,” he said.

But he added that it was questionable “whether we will still be talking about NATO in its current form or whether we will have to establish an independent European defence capability much more quickly”.

NATO chief Mark Rutte congratulated Merz in an X post and told him that he was “looking forward to working with you in this crucial moment for our shared security”.

“It’s vital that Europe step up on defence spending and your leadership will be key,” Rutte said.

Merz also reiterated his condemnation of “the recent interventions in the German election campaign by Elon Musk”. The US tech billionaire and key Trump ally stridently supported the far-right and Moscow-friendly Alternative for Germany (AfD).

“The interventions from Washington were no less dramatic and impertinent than the interventions we have seen from Moscow, so we are under massive pressure from two sides,” Merz said.

Germany’s conservatives swept to victory in Sunday’s elections, with Merz set to become the next chancellor, followed by the far-right AfD in second place after record gains.

Merz urged the speedy formation of a new coalition government, warning that, “[T]he world isn’t waiting for us.”

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) almost doubled its score to over 20 per cent, boosted by fears over immigration and security after a spate of deadly attacks blamed on asylum seekers.

Merz’s CDU/CSU alliance won more than 28 per cent, crushing the Social Democrats (SPD) of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which were looking at a historic low of 16 per cent.

Merz — a long-time party rival of ex-chancellor Angela Merkel — has vowed a crackdown on irregular immigration. He hopes to win back votes from the AfD whose rise has stunned many in a country still seeking to atone for its dark Nazi history.

Before Merz, 69, takes over, he will have to forge a new coalition government in Europe’s top economy, an often drawn-out process he has vowed to complete by Easter.

This threatens to leave Berlin paralysed for weeks to come as Trump has forced head-spinning change and rattled European allies, especially over the Ukraine war.

To build a majority, Merz may first reach out to the SPD, though without Scholz, who apologised for his party’s “bitter” defeat.

Merz could also approach the Greens, who scored 12 percent, although the CDU’s Bavarian sister party the CSU has so far rejected this.

Another potential partner, the small FDP — which sparked the November break-up of Scholz’s Government — stared down the barrel of narrowly missing the 5 per cent hurdle to return to Parliament.

This would impact the complex parliamentary arithmetic, as would the fate of the far-left BSW, which was just below the threshold late Sunday, at 4.9 per cent.

If the BSW eventually scrapes in, this will mean Merz needs two coalition allies — raising the spectre of yet another ideologically diverse alliance, like the failed alliance that was led by Scholz.

“The stakes could not be higher”, argued political analyst and author Michael Broening.

“Germany’s mainstream parties have consistently failed to convince voters to reject the far right, and this election could be their last chance to turn the tide.”

Democratic forces must find solutions to the country’s problems, he added. “If Germany’s ‘establishment’ parties fail to deliver this time, they may not be the establishment for much longer.”