There is a determination among all of Germany's main parties to keep that block in place - and the German public backs them up: 69% see the AfD as a threat to democracy, according to voters surveyed on Sunday.

Germany’s political system is set up to exclude extremists. Yet the country is waking up to a new political reality that has lurched to the right with the once outcast Alternative for Germany (AfD) party now firmly established in German politics.

Friedrich Merz may have staved off the ascension of the far-right Alternative for Germany party for now, but the newly elected chancellor faces a critical test that will have seismic consequences for all of Europe,