(BBC News) German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been re-elected for a fourth term while nationalists have made a historic surge in federal elections, exit polls show.
Her conservative CDU/CSU bloc has seen its worst result in almost 70 years but will remain the largest in parliament.
Its current coalition partner, the social democratic SPD, says it will go into opposition after historic losses.
The nationalist AfD has won its first seats and is set to be the third party, a result that sparked protests.