Tag: Lawmakers

Acting Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz shakes hands with Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz during the second round of Chancellor election. Merz failed the first round of voting in the Bundestag.Credit: Christoph Soeder/dpa German conservative leader Friedrich Merz was elected by lawmakers as the country's new chancellor on Tuesday, hours after suffering a humiliating defeat in a first round of voting on an extraordinary day in Berlin. Merz secured the necessary absolute majority to succeed outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the second round of voting, receiving 325 votes in the 630-seat Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament. The earlier failure was a major embarrassment for Merz, who became the first candidate to fall at the final hurdle to becoming chancellor i...