Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives triumphed in Germany’s election on Sunday and could even win the first single party majority in more than 50 years.
Her centre-right coalition partners risked ejection from parliament for the first time in their post Second World War history.
Merkel could now find herself leading a “grand coalition” government with the left-leaning Social Democrats.
“This is a super result,” said Ms Merkel, who can now expect to serve a third term.
Ms Merkel’s conservative Union bloc won about 42% of the vote, an improvement of more than eight points over Germany’s last election in 2009, according to ARD and ZDF television projections based on exit polls and early counting.
