Merz's election fails in first round of voting - Conservative leader fails to secure majority in German parliament
German conservative leader Friedrich Merz failed to secure a parliamentary majority to become chancellor in the first round of voting. Parliament has 14 days to elect a chancellor with an outright majority, otherwise the country risks new elections.
German conservative leader Friedrich Merz failed to secure the parliamentary majority needed to become chancellor in the first round of voting, dealing a surprise setback to his new coalition with the Social Democrats.
Merz, 69, who led his conservative CDU/CSU to victory in federal elections in February and has since secured a coalition deal with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), won just 310 votes in the lower house of parliament. He needed 316 to secure a majority.
The parliamentary session was interrupted so that parliamentary groups could consult on the continuation of the process.
The lower house, or Bundestag, now has 14 days to elect Merz or another chancellor candidate with an outright majority, and could try to hold another vote on Tuesday.
If this second round of voting also fails to produce a result, the electoral process enters a third phase in which new elections must be held immediately. The person who receives the highest number of votes (relative majority) is then elected chancellor.
Merz's conservatives won national elections in February with 28.5% of the vote, but they need at least one partner to form a majority government.
They signed a coalition agreement with the center-left Social Democrats, who won only 16.4%, their worst result in post-war German history.
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