Exit polls in Germany show the centre-right CDU/CSU bloc with a clear lead in European parliamentary elections, with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) taking second place.
The polls, released just after polls closed in Germany on Sunday evening, showed Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition doing poorly, with his Social Democrats (SPD) and his primary coalition partners, the Greens, both trailing the AfD.
Forecasts from public broadcasters ZDF and ARD put support for the AfD at 16% to 16.5%, behind only the CDU/CSU bloc at 29.5% to 30%.
Scholz's SPD was at 14% in the exit polls, while the Greens were between 12% and 12.5%. The liberal-conservative Free Democrats (FDP), the junior partner in Scholz's three-way coalition, stood at 5% in the poll.
The newly founded populist party Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) hit 5.5% to 6%, according to the exit polls.
