The leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the party's top candidate for Chancellor Friedrich Merz (L) is offered a bouquet of flowers as CDU Secretary General Carsten Linnemann and Silvia Breher (R) applaud prior the CDU's leadership meeting at the party's headquarters in Berlin, on February 24, 2025, one day after the German federal elections. Germany's conservative election winner Friedrich Merz vowed to get to work on the arduous task of building a new coalition government, warning "the world isn't waiting for us". Merz has warned against more paralysis in Berlin at a time US President Donald Trump is driving head-spinning change, the German economy is in recession, and society split after a polarising campaign. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP) (Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)