Berlin – Friedrich Merz will be the German Chancellor after winning a vote in the Bundestag on Tuesday afternoon, following an embarrassing initial failure which plunged Berlin into political troubles.
The conservative chief, who was weakened by the unprecedented withdrawal of the first round, obtained 325 votes in the second dramatic round – just above the 316 necessary to win.
The 69-year-old man now takes the lead of a fragile coalition between the conservative block and the Social Democratic Party of the Center-Gauche (SPD). The coalition will hold one of the thinnest parliamentary majorities since the Second World War, with only 52% of the seats.
Politices
