Friedrich Merz, leader of Germanys conservatives, is set to challenge Chancellor Olaf Scholzs struggling minority government in Sundays election. With a strong lead over the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD),

Friedrich Merz is poised to become Germany's next chancellor in a government led by the Christian Democratic Union and its sister party, the Christian Social Union. Merz has previously worked as a judge and lawyer and has served as the chairman of BlackRock Germany's supervisory board.

Friedrich Merz, a man who has never held a government role, is preparing to take the reins in Germany just as the country faces its biggest economic and diplomatic crises in decades and Europe looks urgently for a new generation of leaders for an era of transatlantic tension.