German voters are choosing the next leaders of Europe’s biggest economy on Sunday with polls suggesting a likely victory for the opposition conservatives under Friedrich Merz and a bitter loss for Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his Social Democrats.

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.

Friedrich Merz, the man expected to become Germany's next chancellor, has vowed to rule Europe's top economy by returning to his Christian Democrats' conservative roots, help business and crack down