Germany's presumptive next leader Friedrich Merz has an "absolute will to power," former chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday. Merkel's comments came one day after her centre-right party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU),

Friedrich Merz is set to become Germany's next chancellor. Friedrich Merz, chairman of the conservative Christian Democratic Union, is set to become Germany's next chancellor based and will likely be sworn in in early May.

The agreement was concluded relatively quickly but still took about six and half weeks, during which the country had been virtually rudderless at a critical moment for Europe.