Can Friedrich Merz get Europe out of its funk?

The man now all but certain to become Germany’s next chancellor may not be anybody’s first choice to share a krug of Oktoberfest lager with. Forget the back-slapping pol ready to banter about the Bundesliga; Friedrich Merz is a former corporate lawyer who wrote a book urging voters to “Dare for More Capitalism”—in 2008. German voters hardly flocked to the beanpole-shaped fellow, who first chased the leadership of the centre-right two decades ago, only to deliver for it the second-worst result in its history last month. But do not tell Europeans this. From Paris to Warsaw, Brussels and beyond, the impending arrival of a new man at the top of German politics is being met with giddy excitement. A continent in crisis on just about every front is in dire need of a reboot—and wants to believe a new Merz-mentum will bring it about. Can the new-chancellor-on-the-block live up to the hype?