With the Alternative for Germany waiting on the sidelines, any new German government coalition must hang together or hang separately.

Friedrich Merz, a man who has never held a government role, is preparing to take the reins in Germany just as the country faces its biggest economic and diplomatic crises in decades and Europe looks urgently for a new generation of leaders for an era of transatlantic tension.

After winning the German election, the conservative leader must navigate a new era without Washington as a close ally.