Outgoing chancellor says he will remain in office until successor in place after Conservative opposition wins most votes in Germany election

• German election 2025: results in full

Guten Morgen aus Berlin,

In November 2019, Freidrich Merz joined a conference of German students at Harvard.

From our point of view it can get going very, very quickly. We should hold the first talks this week already, in the coming days.

My impression is that there are many people in the SPD who also see that we can and should do something together, and then we will find compromises.