Lars Klingbeil, believes conservative Friedrich Merz will garner enough support from lawmakers to become chancellor in a second round of voting, after falling short by just six votes hours earlier. Klingbeil said Merz's conservative bloc and the SPD - which agreed to form Germany's next coalition government - as well as the opposition Greens and The Left party had agreed to request a second round of voting to take place in the afternoon.

German conservative leader Friedrich Merz failed to secure enough parliamentary votes to become chancellor in a major blow.

Christian Democratic Union leader Friedrich Merz will visit the Elysée for his first trip abroad on Wednesday. Emmanuel Macron and Merz are well acquainted, having met both before and after the German elections.