Mr. Merz needed two rounds of voting to become chancellor after a surprising defeat in Parliament hours earlier that threatened to hobble his new government.

Friedrich Merz on Tuesday became Germany's chancellor, succeeding in a second-round parliamentary vote after initially failing to secure the necessary support. The first-round setback was unprecedented in Germany's modern history,

BERLIN (AP) — Friedrich Merz succeeded Tuesday 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.