Berlin: Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), is set to take the reins of the country’s government following a national election that saw his party secure the largest share of the vote, per the exit polls. With the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), emerging winners according to predictions, Merz now has to form a coalition government in a fragmented political landscape.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats (SPD) suffered a crushing defeat, securing their worst postwar result in a national parliamentary election. Scholz conceded defeat, acknowledging the “bitter election result.”
Merz began his political journey in the 1980s as a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He was elected to the European Parliament in 1989 and later served in the Bundestag (German federal parliament) from 1994.
Merz is known for his conservative economic policies, advocating tax cuts and deregulation, and a more decisive role for Germany in global affairs. He is also a critic of excessive immigration and has pushed for stricter asylum policies.