Germany’s Merz Elected Chancellor in Second Round Vote

Their agreement has mapped out plans to revive growth, such as reducing corporate taxes and lowering energy prices. It is also promising strong support for Ukraine as it battles to repel Russia’s invasion, and higher military spending.

The new chancellor’s in-tray would also include the Trump administration’s confrontational trade policy and domestic issues, such as the rise of the far-right, anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Coalition is ‘not united’

Al Jazeera’s Dominic Kane, reporting from Berlin, said the fact that members of Merz’s own coalition did not initially vote for him, suggests that “all is not well in those three … now governing parties”.

“He [Merz] starts in this new position, knowing that members of his own coalition voted against him,” he said.

Among the key issues he is going to face include immigration and the economy, said Kane.

Germany, the most populous member state of the 27-nation European Union, has the continent’s biggest economy and serves as a diplomatic heavyweight.

Merz failure to win backing for his chancellorship at the first attempt, something experts say is an embarrassment for a man who has promised to restore German leadership on the world stage.

“The whole of Europe looked to Berlin today in the hope that Germany would reassert itself as an anchor of stability and a pro-European powerhouse,” said Jana Puglierin, head of the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Relations think-tank. “That hope has been dashed. With consequences way beyond our borders.”