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.

Friedrich Merz has been confirmed as the new chancellor of Germany after a second vote in the country’s parliament, hours after falling six votes short at the first attempt in an unprecedented and humiliating defeat.