One in five voters in the German election favored the far right. The AfD leader’s dramatic rise terrifies many of the others.

Germany’s federal elections took place this weekend, with the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) winning overall and set to form a coalition government.

The leading candidate, Friedrich Merz, a conservative who has adopted many of the AfD’s hard-line positions on immigration, used his closing statement of the debate to promise his voters that he would never allow the AfD into his government. Under him, he said, the firewall would hold.

Alice Weidel, a gay woman with a Sri Lankan partner, leads Germany's far-right AfD, which opposes same-sex marriage and champions traditional values.

The German conservatives will return to the Government in Germany after a three-year hiatus after winning the general elections this Sunday, but they will be forced to quickly form a coalition in a turbulent geopolitical moment and govern with a stronger far-right opposition than ever.

Gemany's far-right AFD leader Alice Weidel enjoyed the vocal support of several international far-right figures ahead of this Sunday's legislative elections in which her party scored its

As Germany heads to the polls, here is all you need to know about Alice Weidel, who is AfD's first-ever candidate for the post of Chancellor.

As an openly gay politician who lives with her Sri Lanka-born partner in Switzerland, Alice Weidel was an unusual choice to many to lead Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) into Sunday's elections, where it scored its best-ever result.

Alice Weidel, has vowed to "chase" the country's other parties if her party goes into opposition. The CDU/CSU centre-right bloc is leading according to initial projects, and its leader Friedrich Merz has repeatedly ruled out a coalition with the AfD.