A Very Rough Start for Germany's New Chancellor Merz |
The word “unprecedented” may get near-inflationary use in political journalism, but it’s entirely appropriate to describe what happened in Germany on Tuesday morning.
The swearing in of the center-right candidate Friedrich Merz as Germany’s next chancellor was considered a formality, but he missed the required parliamentary majority in the first round of voting — a first for a new chancellor in German postwar history. He won a second round later in the afternoon, confirming him as chancellor, but there is no denying that this was a terrible start for Germany's new government.