Merz won in a second round of voting after failing to secure an absolute majority in an earlier round.

Now it’s neither.This was the central message from the chaotic transfer of power on Tuesday that saw Friedrich Merz, the conservative winner of the last election, take the helm of the world’s third-largest economy.

Germany's new Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that simply banning the far-right Alternative for Germany would not end the groundswell of support for it, noting it was key instead to fight the causes.