Friedrich Merz is on track to be the next German chancellor
Chairman of the Christian Democratic Union and chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz is seen on a screen prior to the Christian Democratic Union election event in Berlin, Germany, on February 23rd. Photograph: EPAopposition conservatives won the national election on Sunday, putting leader Friedrich Merz on track to be the next chancellor while the far-right Alternative for Germany came in second, its best ever result, exit polls showed.
A brash economic liberal who has shifted the conservatives to the right, he is considered the antithesis of former conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel, who led Germany for 16 years.GAA Sunday live score updates: Galway withstand Donegal challenge at windswept Pearse StadiumLast of the Irish Lords: ‘There’s a love-hate relationship between Irish people and Anglo titles’
That could leave Scholz in a caretaker role for months, delaying urgently needed policies to revive Europe’s largest economy after two consecutive years of contraction and as companies struggle against global rivals. Germans are more pessimistic about their living standards now than at any time since the financial crisis in 2008.
The election campaign has been dominated by fierce exchanges over the perception that irregular immigration is out of control, fueled by a series of attacks in which the suspected perpetrators were of migrant origin. EU allies are cautiously hopeful the elections might deliver a more coherent government able to help drive forward policy at home and in the bloc.
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