Friedrich Merz became Chancellor of Germany at the second attempt

Friedrich Merz was elected as the new Chancellor of Germany on Tuesday, May 6. He won 325 votes in the second attempt.

DW reported it.

The new Chancellor of Germany

The first attempt to vote failed on the morning of April 6. However, later, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, Friedrich Merz, was elected as Chancellor of Germany.

He received 325 votes out of the minimum required 316 in the Bundestag.

"Thank you for your trust, I accept the election," Merz emphasized.

Everything we know about the new Chancellor of Germany

From a young age, Friedrich Merz was an active member of the youth wing of the Christian Democratic Union, and at the age of 25, he became the Head of the Brilon branch of the CDU's Young Union.  

In 1989, Merz stood for election to the European Parliament and won a seat. He served for one term on the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee.

After his time in the European Parliament, he became a member of the Bundestag for the CDU, focusing on economic and financial issues. In 2000, he became the Head of the party's parliamentary faction. After his defeat in the 2002 elections, he lost his position to Angela Merkel. Despite their common party affiliation and cooperation, there were marked ideological differences between them.

Merz remained a member of the Bundestag for several more years and worked in the Legal Affairs Committee, but in 2009, he decided to leave politics. After that, he focused on his legal career.

He returned to politics in 2018, attempting to lead the Christian Democratic Union after Angela Merkel resigned. However, he managed to win the leadership only on his third attempt, in January 2022, when the CDU went into opposition after Olaf Scholz was elected as Chancellor.

Due to the political crisis in the autumn of 2024, early elections were scheduled for February 23, 2025, in Germany.

As a reminder, 310 MPs supported Merz in the first vote. This is an unprecedented event in German history.

Earlier, Merz announced new military aid for Ukraine. The amount is EUR three billion.