, Columnist
A Very Rough Start for Germany's New Chancellor Merz
Friedrich Merz takes office as planned, but he begins his chancellorship on the back foot.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Photographer: RALF HIRSCHBERGER/AFPThis article is for subscribers only.
The word “unprecedented” may get near-inflationary use in political journalism, but it’s entirely appropriate to describe what happened in Germany on Tuesday morning.
The swearing in of the center-right candidate Friedrich Merz as Germany’s next chancellor was considered a formality, but he missed the required parliamentary majority in the first round of voting — a first for a new chancellor in German postwar history. He won a second round later in the afternoon, confirming him as chancellor, but there is no denying that this was a terrible start for Germany's new government.