German Chancellor Friedrich Merz plans to make the Bundeswehr the "strongest conventional army in Europe." Other EU countries ...

Significantly, Merz began his speech by praising the pro-war and rearmament policies of his predecessor, Olaf Scholz (SPD).

Former German finance minister Christian Lindner bid farewell to his Free Democratic Party (FDP) on Friday with heavy ...

Mr. Merz needed two rounds of voting to become chancellor after a surprising defeat in Parliament hours earlier that threatened to hobble his new government.

German lawmakers are set to vote Tuesday on whether conservative leader Friedrich Merz will become the country’s 10th chancellor since World War II ...

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or ...

The government of his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, collapsed in November, just as Donald Trump won re-election to the White House. Europe and Britain have been waiting for Mr Merz to take the helm ...

His appointment ends six months of political deadlock in the country after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government in November. But Merz’s initial defeat cast doubt on the ...

adding: “The CDU must now ask itself whether Merz is the right man for the job.” Olaf Scholz, the outgoing chancellor, was caught on camera in the chamber with a wry smile: his own three-way ...

Olaf Scholz, the outgoing chancellor, immediately congratulated Merz with a handshake. The 69-year-old now takes the helm of a fragile coalition consisting of his conservative bloc and the center-left ...

If Merz fails again in the second vote, outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz will remain in charge in an interim capacity. Merz won the Feb. 23 election and has since been trying to cobble together a ...

President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a phone call on May 5 and thanked him for supporting Ukraine amid Russia's ongoing war. "We appreciate that Germany ...