Friedrich Merz, 69, a conservative stalwart and longtime rival of Angela Merkel, was elected Germany’s 10th postwar chancellor on Tuesday after a dramatic two-round parliamentary vote. His appointment marks a return to the national spotlight for a politician who once left public life altogether.Merz secured the chancellorship in a second ballot with 325 votes after narrowly failing to clinch a majority in the first round, a rare setback in Germany’s postwar political history. He succeeds Olaf Scholz and inherits a Europe grappling with renewed uncertainty due to Donald Trump’s return to the White House and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.Merz has vowed to unify Europe and strengthen trans-Atlantic ties. A vocal proponent of higher defense spending, he has already begun pushing for a more assertive German security posture, especially after Trump’s announcement of sweeping new US tariffs rattled global markets.Raised in rural North Rhine-Westphalia, Merz has long championed conservative values and represents a region he describes as “down-to-earth.” A lawyer by training, he first entered the European Parliament in 1989 and joined the Bundestag in 1994. He rose quickly before being sidelined by Merkel in 2002, leading to a long hiatus from frontline politics.After leaving parliament in 2009, Merz worked in the private sector, including heading BlackRock’s German operations, and gained international exposure through frequent travel to the US and China, though he never lived abroad.He re-entered politics after Merkel announced her departure in 2018 but lost internal CDU leadership races until finally prevailing after the party’s 2021 electoral defeat. His eventual rise to party leadership and head of the Union parliamentary bloc paved the way for his chancellorship.Merz is known for his unapologetically conservative views, particularly on migration. His nonbinding parliamentary motion calling for stricter border controls, which passed with support from the far-right AfD, sparked mass protests and criticism, including from Merkel. He has denied working with the AfD and insists he never will.Outside politics, Merz is a licensed pilot who often flew himself to Berlin. According to his biographer Volker Resing, Merz sees flying as freedom, a passion he has held onto even during his rise to power.With no prior government experience, Merz now steps into the chancellery at a volatile time. His top priority: asserting Germany’s role in shaping a united European response to shifting global power dynamics.
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