Germany’s conservative leader Friedrich Merz yesterday suffered a serious blow when he failed to win a parliamentary majority in the first round of voting on him becoming the next chancellor.
The unexpected setback, a first in German post-war history, prolongs the half-year of political paralysis that has prevailed in Berlin since the collapse of the coalition government of Olaf Scholz.
Merz had hoped in the secret ballot to win the required absolute majority of at least 316 of the 630 votes in the lower house of parliament. However, he only won the backing of 310 MPs, with 307 voting against him.
Photo: Reuters
There will now be at least one more round of voting in the Bundestag, although it was unclear when, with German media reporting that no further votes were expected yesterday.
According to the constitution, MPs have 14 days to hold the second round.
In the third and final round, a simple majority of lawmakers would suffice to see Merz elected.
Yesterday’s vote had been widely seen as a formality.
Merz theoretically had the backing of a coalition of his CDU/CSU alliance, which won February’s general elections, and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) of Scholz, who together have 328 seats.
Of the 630 MPs in the lower house, three lawmakers abstained, nine were absent and there was one invalid ballot paper.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) — the largest opposition party, which scored a record result of over 20 percent in the election — cheered the surprise result.
“Merz should step aside and the way should be cleared for a general election,” AfD co-leader Alice Weidel told reporters.
She called the result a “good day for Germany.”
The result keeps Scholz in the post of caretaker chancellor for now and has upended the political calendar in Berlin.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had been due to swear in the new Cabinet and Merz had planned visits to Paris and Warsaw today.
Bodo Ramelow of the far-left opposition party Die Linke said he was “angry” that Merz and his designated vice chancellor, Lars Klingbeil of the SPD, “allowed such a situation” to come about.
If Merz eventually goes on to become chancellor, the 69-year-old head of the CDU/CSU alliance would take over from Scholz, whose three-party coalition government collapsed in November on the day US President Donald Trump won re-election.
Hoping to become modern Germany’s 10th chancellor, Merz has vowed to revive the ailing economy, curb irregular migration and strengthen Berlin’s role in Europe, as it responds to increasingly turbulent times.
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