In Berlin, Friedrich Merz was elected Germany’s chancellor, but not without a surprising setback. For the first time in Germany’s modern history, he lost the parliament’s initial vote and needed a ...

Because the vote is held by secret ballot, it is not immediately clear — and might never be known — who defected from Merz's ...

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

Across Europe, in forests, fields and beneath old farmland, the remains of German soldiers are still being found, exhumed and ...

Supporters of Mr. Merz, a former corporate lawyer, say he is well-prepared and thoughtful, but critics accuse him of failing ...