By Andreas Rinke and Matthias Williams BERLIN (Reuters) -Election winner Friedrich Merz on Tuesday ruled out a quick reform to Germany's state borrowing limits known as the "debt brake" and said it was too soon to say whether the outgoing parliament could wave through a massive military spending boost.

Germany's CDU/CSU conservative alliance won Sunday's general election election and the Elon Musk-endorsed far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party came second, preliminary results show.

Europe must seek to “achieve independence” from the United States, Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said after his opposition conservatives won elections on Sunday, in a vote that also saw surging support for the far-right.

German voters cast their ballots in Sunday’s election, with opposition leader Friedrich Merz claiming victory and Chancellor Olaf Scholz conceding defeat. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is heading for the strongest showing for a far-right party since World War II.

The success of the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is a sign of the times. Across Europe, far-right parties once on the fringe have gone mainstream.

Germany faces its second change of leader in less than four years after the head of the center-right opposition won Sunday’s election.

Germany's incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said an 'absolute priority' for him will be to distance Europe from the U.S. following comments by President Donald Trump.

Friedrich Merz's CDU party emerged as the largest party in Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, earning 28.6% of the vote.