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The German chancellor’s drive to keep a campaign pledge of more robust backing for Ukraine is running into blocks within his own government as he prepares to welcome Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Berlin.Friedrich Merz made a full-throated declaration on Monday, hours before Zelenskyy’s one-day visit was announced, that Germany was for the first time lifting previous range restrictions on weapons supplied to Kyiv, along with Ukraine’s other main western supporters.His statement – in an interview with a public broadcaster, which his team later posted to social media – was widely interpreted as a pivot toward bolstering Berlin’s aid to Kyiv at...

Merz will tell Netanyahu "not to overdo it" in a call this week, though notes Germany will remain more guarded in its criticism than others for 'historical reasons'. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday that Israel's recent attacks on Gaza are taking a humanitarian toll on civilians that can no longer be justified as a fight against terrorism. "Harming the civilian population to such an extent, as has incresingly been the case in recent days, can no longer be justified as a fight against Hamas terrorism," he told broadcaster WDR in a televised interview...

Germany’s Friedrich Merz has formally become chancellor at the second attempt, hours after an unprecedented defeat signaled deep discontent within his coalition. In a hastily organized session on Tuesday afternoon, 325 lawmakers voted to approve his appointment — more than the 316 he required. His appointment was approved by the president shortly later, and he is set to be sworn in at the Bundestag. Merz, who won an election in February and unveiled a ruling coalition last month, had fallen six votes short earlier in the day, a stunning setback that marked another twist in a tortuous period of uncertainty...

The result marks an unanticipated setback for Merz who was widely expected to secure the necessary votes and be officially sworn in later in the day...Friedrich Merz became the first chancellor candidate failing to be elected in the first round of voting in the Bundestag...Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg, described the situation as a "bad surprise...It shows that he cannot fully rely on his two coalition parties."

Germany's conservative leader Friedrich Merz narrowly lost a vote in the Bundestag to become the next chancellor in an unexpected setback that plunges Europe's largest economy into political uncertainty. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which finished second in the most recent election, demanded fresh elections after Merz's loss, the first time in German history that a chancellor-designate has failed to win in the first round of voting.

Germany’s Friedrich Merz has failed to win an initial parliamentary vote that would have confirmed his ascension to chancellor, an unprecedented and unexpected twist that extends political uncertainty for the country. Merz, who won an election in February and unveiled a ruling coalition last month, fell six short in a vote on Tuesday by lawmakers that had been expected to be a formality. He is expected to eventually find a path to power, but the result pitches Germany into yet more political chaos. February’s vote started a weeks-long period of politicking and negotiating, during which the country’s establishment was buffeted...

"BERLIN—President Trump’s embrace of Russia is causing Europeans to rethink their security and giving currency to an idea the U.S. has long sought to avoid: a nuclear-armed Germany. Friedrich Merz, who is poised to become Germany’s next chancellor, said Berlin should start talks about expanding the French and British nuclear deterrents to cover Europe, according to an interview the conservative politician did with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung weekly. .... On the nuclear side, researchers and some politicians say Berlin’s fastest route to rebuilding a deterrent could be to replicate its arrangement with the U.S. This could see French nuclear bombers...

Before the final votes in Germany's election were even counted, Friedrich Merz, the leader of the center-right Christian Democratic Union party, who is set to become the next chancellor, promised a major shift in relations with the U.S. In a post-election debate, he promised to confront head-on a new reality -- that the Trump administration looks to overturn about 80 years of policy and raises the prospect of abandoning security guarantees for Europe. "My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA," Merz said...

New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said after his unofficial victory Sunday that a top priority is to make his country and the rest of Europe stronger so that they can become independent from the U.S. with President Donald Trump in office. “My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA,” Merz said, according to the news outlet Politico . He also said Trump's recent comments show "Americans, at least this part of the Americans, this administration, are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe.”...

Friedrich Merz is poised to become Germany's next chancellor in a government led by the Christian Democratic Union and its sister party, the Christian Social Union...He is seen as a center-right, pro-business politician...[Also, a] migration hard-liner and longtime rival of Angela Merkel...

The debate is raging about Syrian migrants living in Germany and whether hundreds of thousands will have to return to their homeland.. Germany’s Christian Democrat Union (CDU) candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz says that Germany cannot accept more Syrians from Syria and that those Syrians who are not integrated should return to Syria. Notably, Merz is pointing to the sky-high levels of unemployment among many of the country’s Syrian population. The chancellor candidate, during an appearance on ARD, said the “one-third” who “work and are integrated” in Germany can stay, “but the two-thirds do not work, they are overwhelmingly young...

Germany's ruling coalition has collapsed after Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed Finance Minister Christian Lindner just hours after Donald Trump's US election win. The coalition collapsed due to disagreements over budget policy, with Lindner opposing tax hikes and debt increases. Scholz plans a parliamentary confidence vote on January 15, potentially leading to a snap election by March 2025. Germany’s conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz said there's "absolutely no reason" to wait that long. "There is absolutely no reason to wait until January of next year to ask for a vote of confidence," he said. "The traffic light coalition no longer has...

Another apocalyptic conspiracy theory is going around on TikTok — but there’s a simple answer to it. The online panic started when a video of Friedrich Merz, a German politician, posted to Twitter saying, “Dear Colleagues…September 24, 2022, will be remembered by all of us as a day which we will say, ‘I remember exactly where I was.’ “ The remark sparked several conspiracy theories of things going wrong that day, including that a big solar flare would hit the earth and create tropical cyclones resulting in mass destruction, according to Middle East Mashable.

BERLIN (AP) — Members of Germany's biggest opposition party, the center-right Christian Democratic Union of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, have chosen prominent conservative Friedrich Merz as its new leader, the party said Friday. Merz's election with a strong mandate appears to mark at least a symbolic break with the Merkel era. Making his third run for the CDU's top post, he took 62.1% support in a ballot of the party's membership to beat two centrist contenders. A party convention next month will have to sign off officially on the membership vote, but that should only be a formality. Armin Laschet,...

Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leadership hopeful Friedrich Merz came under fire on Monday for a response he gave when questioned on whether he could imagine Germany having a homosexual chancellor. Merz, a candidate in the CDU election set to take place in December to find a replacement for Angela Merkel, who is stepping down — made the comment to German media outlet Bild. On the news segment named “The Right Questions,” Merz was asked whether he would have reservations if a gay chancellor were to lead Germany. “No,” Merz replied to Bild. “Concerning the question of sexual orientation, as long...

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has been elected leader of Germany's ruling Christian Democrat Union (CDU) party, bringing Angela Merkel's 18 years at the helm to an end. As the party's general secretary, Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer was favourite to take over when Mrs Merkel announced her retirement in October. But she clinched only a narrow victory over Friedrich Merz, a long-time Merkel rival, in a run-off vote in Hamburg, with 51.8% of the vote. Now the head of Germany's largest party, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56, could become the next German chancellor.