Friedrich Merz was elected Chancellor by the German parliament on Tuesday in a second round of voting, after suffering a surprise defeat at the first attempt.
Mr Merz's failure to win parliamentary backing at the initial stage was a first for postwar Germany and pointed to rumblings of discontent within his coalition.
It led to calls from opposition MPs for a new election and risked undermining the newly formed coalition between Mr Merz's CDU/CSU conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).
Germany has endured six months of political paralysis since the collapse of the coalition government of Olaf Scholz.
The morning vote had been widely seen as a formality with Mr Merz, 69, expecting to win a majority when the 630 members of the Bundestag voted, making him Germany’s 10th chancellor since the Second World War. However, he won the support of only 310 MPs, with 307 voting against in the first round.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had been expected to swear-in the new cabinet and Mr Merz had planned visits to Paris and Warsaw on Wednesday. Instead, Mr Scholz had to remain as Chancellor, albeit for a few hours longer.
Under the rules, the lower house had 14 days to elect Mr Merz or another candidate as chancellor with an outright majority, but rushed to hold a second vote a few hours later.
In the second round, Mr Merz won 325 votes in the 630-member assembly, with 289 voting against, attaining an absolute majority. As the votes were secret ballots, it was not immediately clear – and might never be known – who had defected to Mr Merz's camp.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed Mr Merz's election.
“With you, a proven friend and expert on Europe is moving into the Chancellery. We will work together for a strong and more competitive Europe,” Ms von der Leyen wrote on X.
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed congratulated Mr Merz on his election. “I wish him success in leading his country towards further progress and prosperity,” he said in a statement on X. “I look forward to working with him to strengthen bilateral relations, particularly in developmental areas, for the good and prosperity of our two countries and peoples”
Coalition deal
Mr Merz's coalition is led by his centre-right Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union. They are joined by Mr Scholz's centre-left Social Democrats.
The result of the first vote pitched Berlin’s government quarter into disarray. Perplexed politicians huddled in groups in the chamber, wondering what the next steps would be, while television commentators were also at a loss.
Mr Merz left the chamber for emergency talks with the CDU/CSU parliamentary group.
Upon announcing the next vote, the head of the Union bloc in parliament, Jens Spahn, said that “the whole of Europe, perhaps even the whole world, is watching this second round of elections.”
Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), said on social media: “This shows the weak foundation on which the small coalition of the CDU/CSU and the SPD, which was voted out by the citizens, is built.”
Green Party politician Renate Kunast said the result would be seen as historic in Germany. “The potential chancellor Friedrich Merz is massively weakened. This is a thunderclap for the entire country,” she told a Berlin TV station.
Johann Wadepuhl, the foreign minister-designate, described it as “an annoying process, but in a parliamentary democracy, in a liberal country, this is unfortunately one of the scenarios that you have to be prepared for”.
The first-round loss was “a bad start” for Mr Merz and “shows that he cannot fully rely on his two coalition parties, wrote analyst Holger Schmieding of Berenberg Bank. “That will sow some doubts about his ability to fully pursue his agenda, damaging his domestic and international authority at least initially.”
Capital Economics analyst Franziska Palmas argued Mr Merz's initial setback “does leave Merz severely weakened and suggests that hopes for more stability in German politics may be disappointed”.
Mr Merz's biographer, Volker Resing, said people may soon forget about the first-round “hiccup”.
Germany, the most populous member state of the 27-nation European Union, has the continent’s biggest economy and serves as a diplomatic heavyweight. The new chancellor's in-tray would include the war in Ukraine and the US administration’s confrontational trade policy on top of domestic issues, such as the rise of a far-right, anti-immigrant party.
Mr Merz's victory caps a long ambition to lead Germany, which was first foiled decades ago by party rival Angela Merkel who went on to serve as chancellor for 16 years.
After that setback, he turned his back on active politics for several years.
He practised law and led the supervisory board of investment manager BlackRock’s German branch. During that break, he often travelled for business to the US and China, although he never lived outside Germany.
Despite his political experience, he will take over the chancellery without having served in government.
Mr Merz has vowed to revive the ailing economy and strengthen Berlin's role in Europe as it responds to rapid change since US President Donald Trump returned to power.
He has also vowed to curb irregular migration and deploy extra police to secure Germany's borders, putting an end to the open-door policy that welcomed millions of asylum seekers under his party rival, ex-chancellor Angela Merkel.
The CDU leader has warned that only such drastic steps will prevent the AfD from perhaps coming out on top in elections in four years.
Germany is expected to further consolidate its support to Israel under Mr Merz amid global concerns over its humanitarian blockade and new military offensive on Gaza.
He has previously said Germany should provide military aid, end “export blockades”, and stand “firmly at Israel's side”. His party wants to develop closer research ties and cut funding from charities who fail to adopt a contested definition of anti-Semitism.
Mr Merz's conservatives won February's elections with 28.5 per cent of the vote, but needed at least one partner to form a majority government.
On Monday, they signed a coalition deal with the Social Democrats, who won just 16.4 per cent, their worst result in German postwar history.
