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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.
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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends his first Cabinet meeting in Berlin on May 6.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Katja Hoyer
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The word “unprecedented” may get near-inflationary use in political journalism, but it is entirely appropriate to describe what happened in Germany on May 6 morning.
The swearing in of the centre-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 post-war history. He won a second round later in the afternoon
