Members of Germany's centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) have re-elected conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz to another two-year term as the party's chairman.
Merz, 68, received just short of 90% of the vote at the CDU's national party conference in Berlin on Monday.
Merz expressed his thanks "for the great vote of confidence."
"I am looking forward to the work that lies ahead of us over the next two years," said Merz, who has previously pledged to bring his party - along with its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) - back to power at the next parliamentary elections in 2025.
Merz is seen as the frontrunner to challenge Chancellor Olaf Scholz as the CDU's top candidate in that election. But Merz is not universally popular within the party, with some seeing him as gaffe-prone.
He retired from politics in 2009 after protracted disputes with former chancellor Angela Merkel, who dominated the CDU for years, but made a comeback after Merkel stepped down in 2018.
He was frequently seen as more conservative than Merkel, who often steered the party more toward the middle.
In his speech to party delegates on Monday, Merz castigated Scholz's left-leaning coalition government and said that the country could ill afford another term under the leadership of the Social Democrat.
"Every day sooner that this spectacle comes to an end is a good day for Germany."
Merz said that securing peace and freedom to be the most important task in the coming years, but said that Germany will have to invest more in its ability to defend its country and alliances.
He also called for battle against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and other populist parties, which he accused of having rejected democratic values and the goal of a common Europe.
