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The leader of the Christian Democratic Union party had unexpectedly fallen short of the 316-vote threshold earlier on Tuesday
Friedrich Merz has been elected as German chancellor following a second Bundestag vote on Tuesday. The leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) had initially fallen six votes short of the required 316-vote threshold earlier in the day, but hours later rallied conservatives and allies in the country’s parliament to win 325 votes.
The situation is unprecedented in Germany’s post-war history, as no prospective chancellor had previously failed to be voted through by the Bundestag at the first try after securing a coalition agreement.
Merz faced opposition from 289 MPs, many of them from the Left and Green parties, who voted against the 69-year-old.
The second vote took place after four factions agreed to alter parliamentary procedures to avoid delays. According to Politico, urgent closed-door meetings were held in between the votes.
Addressing lawmakers before the second round of voting, CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn told them that “all of Europe, perhaps even the entire world, is watching this second round of voting.”
“I appeal to everyone to be aware of this special responsibility,” he said, as quoted by broadcaster ARD.
Commenting on Merz’s initial failure, one of the leaders of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party faction in the Bundestag, Bernd Baumann, said: “Mr. Merz, you have failed. This is a historic defeat, the likes of which have never been seen in this Bundestag before.”
Green Party politician Renate Kuenast spoke of a “massive loss of authority” for the incoming chancellor, as quoted by broadcaster ZDF.
Left Party parliamentary leader Christian Goerke characterized the situation as a “crushing defeat” for Merz, attributing it to a “truly poor coalition agreement [between the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats] that fails to address the major problems facing this country.”
Germany’s previous three-way ruling coalition led by the SPD fell apart last November amid internal disputes on spending. The new CDU-SPD coalition has pledged to continue key elements of former Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s agenda, including support for Ukraine and unlocking a constitutional debt brake to further boost the military budget.
