German conservative leader Friedrich Merz has announced he will run for chancellor in next year’s elections, saying the country’s centre-right is fully united behind his candidacy.

Squeezed out of top-level politics by his arch party rival Angela Merkel more than two decades ago, Friedrich Merz is on course to land his first ever government job: as Germany's next chancellor.

Germany’s opposition center-right Christian Democratic Union has chosen its leader Friedrich Merz to be its candidate for chancellor in next year’s national election.