Friedrich Merz secured the top job but only after losing on his first attempt, a surprise that potentially weakens his government at a fraught time for Germany and Europe.

Merz' appointment ends six months of political deadlock in the country after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government in November.

The morning of May 6th was meant to be a routine final stage in the choreography of the handover of power to Friedrich Merz as chancellor, with a vote of MPs in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament.