Europe holds its breath as world’s third largest economic power and most populous EU country faces crossroads

German voters go to the polls today but it is a different world from when the campaign began only a few weeks ago.

Nearly 60 million ­people are choosing a government that will have to grapple with the breakdown of the transatlantic alliance under Donald Trump and new threats to European security just as the country’s vaunted economic model is hitting the skids.

Extremists tipped for second place after shifting debate to immigration and crime and winning endorsements from Musk and Vance

• German election 2025 poll tracker

In the tumultuous German election campaign, which has been rocked by jaw-dropping US interference, a spate of violent attacks and rare fears for the country’s political stability, all eyes have been locked on the party most likely to finish second.

When the dust settles after Sunday’s vote and conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz is – barring further surprises – elected chancellor, the 2025 race will be remembered as the moment the far-right Alternative für Deutschland, consistently polling in second place, went from sideshow to centre stage.