Germany went to the polls on Sunday in a general election which saw Angela Merkel returned to power as Germany’s Chancellor for a fourth consecutive term. However, a detailed analysis of the results makes painful reading for Mrs Merkel’s party and its coalition partners.
The Christian Democrat Union, Mrs Merkel’s party, and its Christian Social Union sister party slumped to their worst result for nearly 70 years, shedding 8.5% of tDU-C
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she wants to win back the voters who deserted her party for right-wing nationalist AfD.
Mrs Merkel is set for a fourth term in office, despite heavy losses for her party in Sunday's election.
She now faces months of coalition talks to try to form a stable government.
After winning its first parliamentary seats, AfD - Alternative for Germany - vowed to fight "an invasion of foreigners" into the country.
"We want a different policy," co-leader Alexander Gauland said following his party's historic surge.
But splits have already emerged between AfD leaders on the party's direction.
There were surprising scenes at the party's news conference on Monday morning when chairwoman Frauke Petry, the best known AfD politician, announced she would not be part of the party's bloc when she joined the Bundestag.
Mrs Merkel's conservative alliance - between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister Bavarian party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) - recorded its worst result in almost 70 years.
Mrs Merkel's conservative alliance has the largest number of seats and will form the next government - as the left-leaning parties together do not come remotely close to a parliamentary majority.
As working with AfD MPs would be unthinkable, and the second-placed Social Democrats (SPD) has apparently ruled itself out, the most likely scenario is a "Jamaica" coalition, so-called because of the colours of Jamaica's flag and the traditional colours of the German political parties.
Such a coalition - which has never been tried at the federal level - includes the black CDU/CSU, the yellow, business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) - who are returning to parliament after a four-year hiatus with 80 seats - and the Greens (67 seats).