Germany’s conservative leader Friedrich Merz has been elected as new chancellor of the country after securing a majority in the second round of voting in the Lower House of Parliament. A total of 325 of the 630 lawmakers voted in favor of Mr Merz this time around, bringing him over the necessary 316 threshold. Earlier, in the first round, only 310 members voted for Mr Merz giving a significant blow to his prestige and an unprecedented failure in post-war German history.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had congratulated Friedrich Merz on assuming office as the Federal Chancellor of Germany. In a social media post, the Prime Minister said that he is looking forward to work together to further cement the India-Germany Strategic Partnership.