Berlin, May 6 -- Friedrich Merz, Germany's conservative leader, was elected as the country's 10th Chancellor by parliament on Tuesday in a second round of voting, after suffering a shocking defeat in the first attempt.
In the second round, Merz secured 325 votes, just over the needed 316 votes.
Earlier in the day 18 unnamed rebels from the newly-formed alliance between his conservatives and the Social Democrats had voted to deprive him of the required majority in the secret ballot.
"Madam Speaker, thank you for the trust," a visibly relieved Merz told the Bundestag president, Julia Klockner, after she announced the result. "I accept the election."
Merz, 69, leads the centre-right CDU/CSU bloc, which won February's snap election with a ...