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,

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.

The leader of Germany's Christian Democrat-Social Democratic coalition, Friedrich Merz, suffered a shock defeat Tuesday in his bid to become chancellor after failing to secure a majority in a vote in the Bundestag.