New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sets off on his first trip abroad on Wednesday to France and Poland in a bid to renew relations with the country's top allies and show that Germany is back on the world stage despite a bumpy start to his government.

Article 63 of Germany's constitution, the Basic Law, says that, to become chancellor, a candidate in the first round needs to win an absolute majority in the Bundestag or lower house. Merz won 310 votes, short of the 316 that constitute an absolute majority in the chamber of 630 members.