With the Alternative for Germany waiting on the sidelines, any new German government coalition must hang together or hang separately.

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.

Friedrich Merz is set to become the next Chancellor at a time of great tumult at home and abroad, writes John Kampfner.