Friedrich Merz Elected German Chancellor

A second vote was agreed on Tuesday afternoon, hours after Merz's initial defeat. | Source: REUTERS

Friedrich Merz has been elected as Germany’s new chancellor after securing enough support in a second-round parliamentary vote on Tuesday.

Merz, 69, leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), received 325 votes, surpassing the 316-vote threshold required in the 630-seat Bundestag, according to local media, Deutsche Welle.

Earlier in the day, Merz had fallen short in the initial vote but succeeded in the follow-up ballot.

Merz’s rise to chancellorship follows February’s federal election, in which the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), won the largest share of the vote.

The CDU/CSU has since entered a coalition agreement with the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), which came in third.

The newly signed coalition deal sets the direction for Germany’s next government, including policies on migration, tax reforms for individuals and businesses, and enhancements to social security, such as raising the minimum wage.

Merz is now set to lead Europe’s largest economy with a government built on cross-party consensus and shared policy priorities.

Friedrich Merz Elected German Chancellor is first published on The Whistler Newspaper

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