German Conservative Merz Wants a Fast Start as New Chancellor

Friedrich Merz has vowed to hit the ground running when he takes over as German chancellor on Tuesday, pledging swift action to galvanize Europe’s biggest economy, restore Berlin’s leadership role on the global stage and address voter concerns about irregular migration.

After a confirmation vote in the lower house of parliament in Berlin, the 69-year-old conservative leader will be sworn in as the head of a coalition government of his center-right CDU/CSU bloc and the Social Democrats — the center-left party of the man he is replacing, Olaf Scholz.