Angela Merkel to serve fourth term as far-right party enters parliament

Merkel's CDU party won the largest share of votes at the German election, with exit polls reporting 32.5 per cent support


Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Germany following the country's election on Sunday night, angry that a far-right party had gained seats in parliament for the first time since World War II.

Angela Merkel won a fourth term as Chancellor after her party gained the largest share of the votes, but she was left seriously damaged as she hemorrhaged millions of votes to anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Damaged by her handling of the 2015 migrant crisis, Merkel's conservative bloc took 33 per cent of the vote, down 8.5 points from the 2013 election and hitting its lowest level since 1949.

The German establishment was shocked as conservative voters flocked to AfD, which took 12.6 percent of the vote.

Protesters took to the streets of Berlin angry that the far-right AfD won 13.5 per cent support during Germany's election, meaning they will get seats in parliament for the first time (pictured, a banner that reads 'Smash the AfD') 

While Mrs Merkel's party came out of the election the largest, she did worse than most polls had projected as the far right gained a huge amount of support, causing alarm and protests across the country

Marchers in Berlin who had been gathered in a public square moved to surround the club where the AfD were holding their victory party after news of the election result spread

However, Merkel's party is still the biggest parliamentary bloc and Europe's most powerful leader said her conservatives would set about building the next government, adding she was sure a coalition would be agreed by Christmas.

'There cannot be a coalition government built against us,' she said.