BERLIN, May 7 — German conservative Friedrich Merz was sworn in by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier as the country’s 10th chancellor on Tuesday, hours after suffering a humiliating defeat in the German parliament, reported German news agency dpa.
Merz formally received a certificate of appointment from Steinmeier at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin, marking the beginning of his term in office as he succeeded Olaf Scholz.
The 69-year-old earlier required a second round of voting to secure an absolute majority in the 630-seat Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament.
The defeat in the first vote came despite Merz’s incoming coalition, comprised of his Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU) and the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) – holding 328 seats, above the threshold for an absolute majority of 316.
Merz is now due to return to the Bundestag to take the oath of office, before heading back to the Bellevue Palace, where his 17 ministers are also to be sworn in by Steinmeier.
