Frontrunner Friedrich Merz has vowed a tough rightward shift if elected to win back voters from the far-right anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is eyeing a record result after a string of deadly attacks blamed on asylum seekers.

Germany’s electoral system rarely gives any party an absolute majority and opinion polls suggest that no party is anywhere near one this time. Two or more parties will most likely form a coalition in the coming weeks.

Germans are going to the polls on Sunday for national elections. Opinion polls suggest the outcome will be a new chancellor and, likely, a new governing coalition.