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.

A lawmaker for Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) has called for unity as lawmakers were set to vote in a second secret ballot to elect conservative Friedrich Merz as the country's new chancellor, after a historic defeat in a first round earlier on Tuesday.

BERLIN: German conservative leader Friedrich Merz failed to secure enough parliamentary votes to become chancellor on Tuesday (May 6) in a major blow that threw politics in Europe's largest economy once more into disarray.