Friedrich Merz’s conservatives have won Germany’s election, far ahead of rival parties but with less than 30% of the vote they had hoped for.

“Let’s celebrate tonight, let’s go to work in the morning,” he told cheering supporters. He said he was “aware of the responsibility ahead”.

The other winner was the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which celebrated a record second-place result of 20.8%.

AfD candidate Alice Weidel won a landslide victory for her supporters, but even her own party had expected a better result, and the mood at AfD headquarters was subdued.

When the results came in early Monday, it was clear that the AfD was far ahead of other parties in the east, with a predicted 34% according to a survey for public broadcaster ZDF.

“Germans have voted for change,” Alice Weidel said. She said Friedrich Merz’s attempt to form a coalition would ultimately fail: “We have a new election – we don’t have to wait another four years.”

But just as the election map in the east turned light blue, much of the rest of Germany turned black – the color of the CDU.

After Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition collapsed late last year, Merz asked voters for a strong mandate to form a clear coalition with one other party.

He said he would be able to solve as many of Germany’s problems as possible in four years, from a stagnant economy to closing its borders to irregular migrants.

German voters had other ideas. They voted in large numbers, with a turnout of 83% not seen since before reunification in 1990, but Merz’s Christian Democrats were looking for more than the 28.6% they and their Bavarian sister party won.

Merz has refused to work with the AfD. Germany has a ban, or “firewall,” that prevents mainstream parties from working with the far right.

But his most likely partner, the Social Democrats, suffered their worst result yet, with 16.4%.

Their leader, outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said the election results were a bitter defeat for the party and that he would not participate in coalition talks.

Given the CDU’s relatively weak performance, there were initial doubts that two parties would be enough for a coalition.

Germany has spent four years in a three-party coalition, with the Greens as the only other realistic partner. Its leader, Robert Habeck, had derided Merz as a “Representative for heat pump” the day before the vote.