Who is Friedrich Merz, the man who has been elected Germany's next chancellor?
BERLIN (AP) — Conservative leader Friedrich Merz was elected in a second ballot by lawmakers as post-World War II Germany’s 10th chancellor on Tuesday — hours after he failed to win the first round in parliament in a historic defeat.
Merz, 69, who succeeds Olaf Scholz, has vowed to prioritize European unity and the continent’s security as it grapples with the new Trump administration and Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Merz’s two-party Union bloc emerged as the strongest force from Germany’s election on Feb. 23. He then turned to the Social Democrats, Scholz’s center-left party, to put together a coalition with a parliamentary majority. He has already pushed through plans to enable higher defense spending, and faced more pressure to finish the deal after U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs created significant market disruption.
On Tuesday, Merz needed a majority of 316 out of 630 votes in parliament but only got 310 in the first round. Because it was a secret ballot, it was not immediately clear — and might never be known — who defected from Merz’s camp. In the second round he received 325 votes.
https://apnews.com/article/germany-government-merz-profile-e43537745f4ed302621f67e4cda59cfe
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