Friedrich Merz wins on second ballot to become Germany’s chancellor

Friedrich Merz is congratulated after being elected new chancellor at the German federal parliament (Markus Schreiber/AP)

Friedrich Merz has finally succeeded in his bid to become the next German chancellor during a second vote in parliament, hours after he suffered a historic defeat in the first round.

The conservative leader had been expected to smoothly win the vote to become Germany’s 10th chancellor since the Second World War.