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, the 69-year-old veteran German politician with a hardline stance on migration and an expensive aviation hobby, is the favorite to become the country’s next chancellor in the February 23 federal election.

The voting begins in the high-stakes election in Germany. Recent surveys give an edge to Merz compared to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats