The Chancellor’s election in Germany fails. The Bundestag does not give the votes Merz
Friedrich Merz has failed to be elected Chancellor of Germany in the first round of voting in the Bundestag, receiving only 310 votes out of 316 he needed to secure the absolute majority.
According to German media, this is an unprecedented development in the history of the Federal Republic, while the session has been postponed to allow consultations between parliamentary groups on further steps.
To be elected Chancellor in the first round, the candidate must receive more than half of the votes of all Bundestag members. If this does not happen, a second round is organized within 14 days. Failure in this round would lead the country to early elections.
This situation comes despite that just the day before, the CDU/CSU conservative alliance led by Merz signed a coalition agreement with the Social Democratic Party (SPD). The two political forces together count 328 MPs in parliament, which theoretically had to secure the Merzi victory.
Coalition partners have pledged to an agenda involving the economic recovery and reconstruction of the German army. However, today’s result casts doubt on the cohesion and credibility of the new governing agreement.
