Friedrich Merz succeeded in his bid to become the next German chancellor during a second vote in parliament, hours after he suffered a historic defeat in the first round.

The leader of Germany's Christian Democrat-Social Democratic coalition, Friedrich Merz, suffered a shock defeat Tuesday in his bid to become chancellor after failing to secure a majority in a vote in the Bundestag.

Germany's lower house of parliament on Tuesday convened for the election of Friedrich Merz as the country's new chancellor. Merz requires an absolute majority of votes in the 630-seat Bundestag to succeed the outgoing chancellor,