Live Updates: Friedrich Merz Stumbles in Bid to Become Germany’s Next Leader

Now 69 and a politician, Mr. Merz is attempting a much more precarious leap with a similar risk of stumbling. But in a sign of the challenges he faces, Mr. Merz fell six votes short in a first vote in Parliament. But others think that Mr. Merz struggles to plan more than one step ahead, leading him to break promises. In 2020, the 6-foot-6-inch Mr. Merz gave an interview in which he was asked about the perception he was arrogant. Mr. Merz was also stunned by the dressing-down that Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance gave Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president and a fellow ally, in the Oval Office.