Long wait likely for new government

BERLIN, Feb 23 (AFP): Germans went to the polls Sunday in a pivotal election, with the conservatives the strong favourites after a campaign rocked by a far-right surge and the dramatic return of US President Donald Trump.

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

If he takes over from embattled Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the centre-left SPD, as widely predicted given a yawning poll gap, Merz has promised a "strong voice" in Europe at a time of chaotic disruption.

German voters may not have a new government for some time. Arduous coalition negotiations tend to drag on for weeks if not months in Germany, spelling long stretches of political paralysis before a new chancellor takes charge.

The confident poll frontrunner Friedrich Merz has said he's aiming for an Easter deadline-April 20 -- for a deal and urged potential allies to get ready for speedy talks.

"If we spend weeks, possibly months... then the period in which this country is without a majority capable of governing will be too long for me," Merz said in a recent Politico interview.

In Berlin, a bulging in-tray of challenges awaits whoever is the next leader, from a stagnating economy to the Ukraine war and an increasingly hostile Trump administration.