Now it's official: Steinmeier appointed Merz as the new German chancellor

During the ceremony in the presidential palace, Steinmeier also confirmed the appointments of 17 ministers in the federal government. The first session of the new government is scheduled for tonight at 10 p.m.

Merz is the 10th chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.

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In the first round of voting, during the morning, Merz received only 310 of the required 316 votes, which is considered a unique case that a candidate for German chancellor was not elected in the first round of voting.

This was followed by party consultations, after which the CDU/CSU, SPD, Greens and Left parliamentary groups agreed to jointly decide on an exemption from the rules of procedure in order to enable a second vote, in which Merz was not nominated by the president for chancellor, but by the Bundestag.