Following his party's victory in federal elections on Sunday, Friedrich Merz, the likely next Chancellor of Germany, rejected overtures from President Donald Trump while calling for "independence" from the United States and accusing Washington of election interference.

On Sunday, German voters firmly rejected the former leftist governing coalition of Social Democrats and Greens in favour of the supposedly conservative Christian Democrats and the populist-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

In response to the election results, President Donald Trump commented on his Truth Social platform: "Looks like the conservative party in Germany has won the very big and highly anticipated election. Much like the USA, the people of Germany got tired of the no common sense agenda, especially on energy and immigration, that has prevailed for so many years."

"This is a great day for Germany, and for the United States of America under the leadership of a gentleman named Donald J. Trump. Congratulations to all — many more victories to follow!!!" Trump added.

However, the successor to Angela Merkel and likely incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose party came first in Sunday's vote but fell well short of a majority with just 28.5 per cent of the vote, was quick to reject a right-wing alliance with the AfD in favour of a left-wing coalition and to distance himself from Trump and America in general.

"I am communicating closely with a lot of prime ministers and heads of EU states, and for me, it is an absolute priority to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that we achieve independence from the U.S., step by step," Merz said per state broadcaster DW.

"I never thought that I would ever need to say something like that, on television, but after the latest statements made by Donald Trump last week, it is clear, that the Americans — at any case these Americans, this administration — mostly don't care about the fate of Europe one way or another," the CDU leader added.

Merz went on to accuse the Trump administration of having committed election interference, likely hinting at key Trump ally Elon Musk, a vocal supporter of the anti-mass migration Alternative for Germany party,

He said that the "interventions from Washington were no less drastic, dramatic, and ultimately no less brazen, than the intervention that we have seen from Moscow."