Germany's centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has emerged as the strongest party in local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, according to preliminary results from the state election authority early on Monday. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU is expected to take about 33.3% of the vote, followed by the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) with 22.1%. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured 14.5%, according to the preliminary results, while the Greens looked set to win 13.5%, the Left Party 5.6% and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) ...