Overview

• Friedrich Merz secured the German chancellorship in a second parliamentary vote after an unprecedented failure in the first round, highlighting coalition fragility.
• Merz immediately embarked on his first foreign trip to France and Poland, signaling a commitment to rebuild European unity and leadership.
• In Paris, Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to strengthen EU defense, competitiveness, and coordination on Ukraine support.
• Merz aims to centralize German foreign and security policy through a proposed national security council, uniting the chancellery and foreign ministry under one party for the first time in years.
• The new chancellor urged the U.S. to refrain from intervening in German domestic politics, reflecting a recalibration of transatlantic relations.