Germany votes Sunday for a new government that will shape Europe's response to an assertive Trump

BERLIN (AP) — German voters go to the polls Sunday to elect a new parliament that will determine how the country is run for the next four years.

Europe's biggest economy is the 27-nation European Union's most populous nation and a leading member of NATO, as well as the second-biggest weapons supplier to Ukraine, after the United States, following Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Germany's next government will be central to Europe's response to an assertive new U.S. administration.

Here's a look at what to expect for Sunday and beyond.

Polls are due to open at 8 a.m. and close at 6 p.m.. Germans can also vote by postal ballot, but their ballot must arrive by the time polling stations close on election day to be counted.

Exit polls will come and vote-counting will begin immediately after voting ends, and the general picture of the outcome should be clear very quickly. A final official result is expected early Monday.

Four candidates are running to be Germany’s next leader: incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the center-left Social Democrats; Friedrich Merz, the candidate of the mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union party; current Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, of the environmentalist Greens; and Alice Weidel, of the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, or AfD.

Preelection polls have put Merz’s Union bloc in the lead with support of about 30%, ahead of AfD, with around 20%. Scholz’s Social Democrats and Habeck’s Greens are further back.

Merz is favored to replace Scholz as chancellor, but it’s not yet clear what governing coalitions will be possible after the election. How easy it is to form a government may depend in part on how many parties are in the new parliament. Opinion polls show three parties hovering around the 5% of the vote needed to win seats.

All mainstream parties say they won’t work with AfD.

At least 59.2 million people in a country of 84 million are eligible to vote for the new Bundestag, or lower house of parliament. It is the 630-member Bundestag that will elect the next chancellor, Germany’s equivalent of a prime minister.

There are 29 parties on the ballot, but it’s likely that between five and eight of them will get enough votes to win seats in parliament. In most cases, parties must win at least 5% of the vote to get a share of the seats.

Germany's electoral system rarely gives any party an absolute majority and opinion polls suggest that no party is anywhere near one this time. The country has no tradition of minority governments at national level, which means that two or more parties will most likely form a coalition.

There is no formal referee for the process of forming a new government, and no set time limit. Parties hold exploratory talks to determine who they have most common ground with, and one combination of parties then moves on to formal coalition talks.

Those negotiations typically produce a detailed coalition agreement setting out the new government’s plans. That will typically need approval at least from conventions of the parties involved. Some parties may choose to put it to a ballot of their entire membership.

Once that process is complete, the Bundestag can elect the new chancellor.

A strong German government would be important to Europe's response to the new U.S. administration and to turmoil in Ukraine and elsewhere.

Germany and neighboring France have traditionally been the motor of the EU, but both heavyweights have been consumed by domestic political instability in recent months.

This election is being held seven months earlier than originally planned because Scholz's three-party coalition collapsed in November as it argued about how to reinvigorate the economy, which has shrunk for the past two years. One of the new government's most urgent tasks will be to find a coherent response to that problem.

Another challenge will be further reducing irregular migration, which has been a top issue in the campaign.

Merz has said he hopes to form a new government by mid-April if he wins. Scholz’s outgoing government will remain in office on a caretaker basis until the Bundestag elects the new chancellor.

Snow covers the ground in front of the Reichstag building, home of the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

FILE - The Reichstag building, house of German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, June 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

FILE - Opposition Christian Union parties floor leader Friedrich Merz, right, speaks, as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, listens during a general debate on the budget at the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

FILE - Germany Election What to KnowFriedrich Merz, CDU candidate for chancellor and CDU federal chairman, right, attends the 37th federal party conference of the CDU in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Feb.3, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

FILE - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stands behind a reflection of the European flag in a window, as he waits for the arrival of Iraq's Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Jan. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

FILE - Election posters, showing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and CDU top candidate Friedrich Merz, stand on a meadow in Nieder-Erlenbach near Frankfurt, Germany, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

FILE - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during a general debate of the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Sept.11, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019 file photo German lawmakers attend a special parliament session at the Reichstag building, host of the German federal parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

FILE - General view inside the empty plenary hall of the German parliament Bundestag at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, Nov. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

FILE - The Chancellery with the office of the German chancellors reflected in a puddle from a sprinkler on a sunny day in Berlin, Germany, June 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber), File

FILE - In this Friday, Nov. 29, 2019 file photo, German national flags catch the sun on top of the German parliament building, the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021.(Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

FILE - Election posters showing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and CDU top candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz in Frankfurt, Germany, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Jamarques Lawrence scored a career-high 27 points and Rienk Mast added 13 points and six rebounds Saturday to help Nebraska overcome a 16-point second-half deficit and extend major college basketball's longest winning streak to 20 games with an 83-77 victory at Indiana.

The Big Ten Conference co-leaders became the first Power Four team to start 16-0, opened conference play at 5-0 for the first time since 1965-66 and could soon ascend to their highest ranking in school history. Nebraska reached No. 8 in 1965-66.

The Cornhuskers also won five straight over the Hoosiers (12-4, 3-2), this one coming after facing their biggest halftime deficit all season at 39-30.

Lamar Wilkerson scored 32 points and made five 3-pointers to lead Indiana, which had won its previous four games under first-year coach Darian DeVries. Tucker DeVries, the coach's son, finished with 17 points and six rebounds.

The game was played less than 24 hours after Indiana advanced to its first national championship game in football, and fans arrived to Assembly Hall decked out in sweatshirts that read “Football School” and “Rose Bowl champions.” But the basketball team couldn't extend the celebration after closing the first half on a 12-2 spurt and opening the second half on a 10-3 run capped by Wilkerson's four-point play to make it 49-33 with 17:42 left.

Nebraska finally responded with consecutive 3-pointers from Sam Hoiberg, Lawrence and Pryce Sandfort before getting back-to-back layups to tie the score at 55. It took the lead for good when Sandfort's 3 made it 65-62, setting up the Cornhuskers' strong finish.

Sandfort had 12 points for the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska: Hosts Oregon on Tuesday.

Indiana: Will try to rebound Tuesday at No. 12 Michigan State.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Nebraska forward Rienk Mast (51) shoots under the defense of Indiana forward Sam Alexis (4) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Bloomington, Ind., Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg, right, goes after loose ball against Indiana forward Tucker DeVries during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Bloomington, Ind., Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Indiana guard Nick Dorn (7) reacts to making a three-point shot against Nebraska during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Bloomington, Ind., Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Nebraska forward Berke Buyuktuncel, left, moves around Indiana forward Reed Bailey during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Bloomington, Ind., Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Indiana forward Reed Bailey, right behind, makes contact with Nebraska forward Braden Frager while shooting during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Bloomington, Ind., Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)