SPD

Friedrich Merz was sworn in as Germany’s 10th postwar chancellor on 7 May 2025, following a tumultuous parliamentary process that underscored the fragility of his coalition government. After failing to secure a majority in the initial Bundestag vote—a first in modern German history—Merz clinched the chancellorship in a second round with 325 votes, narrowly surpassing the required 316. Merz leads a coalition comprising his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its […]