Friedrich Merz succeeded in his bid to become the next German chancellor during a second vote in parliament, hours after he suffered a historic defeat in the first round.

Conservative leader Friedrich Merz was elected in a second ballot by lawmakers as post-World War II Germany's 10th chancellor on Tuesday — hours after he failed to win the first round in parliament in a historic defeat.

New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a reset in French-German relations to help Europe overcome the "enormous" security and economic challenges it faced during his first trip abroad since taking office to top ally France on Wednesday.