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Friedrich Merz’s bid to become Germany’s Chancellor fails in parliament in a stunning defeat

German lawmakers are set to vote on the next chancellor again on Tuesday afternoon, hours after conservative leader Friedrich Merz failed to win the first round in parliament in a historic defeat.

Merz, the conservative leader, had been expected to smoothly win the vote to become Germany’s 10th chancellor since World War II. A candidate for chancellor has never failed to win on the first ballot in post-war Germany.

Merz needed a majority of 316 out of 630 votes in a secret ballot but only got 310 votes in the first round of voting — six votes short of the 328 seats held by his coalition, which is also one of the slimmest postwar majorities.

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by Anonymousreply 3May 6, 2025 2:57 PM

Merz's coalition is led by his center-right Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union. They are joined by the center-left Social Democrats, outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party. The parties were now to regroup to discuss the next step but it was also unclear how long the process could take.

Merz still is likely to take the helm of the 27-nation European Union’ s most populous member after Scholz’s government collapsed last year and a national election was held in February. Scholz, despite his official farewell on Monday, remained in a caretaker role until a new chancellor takes over.

Germany has the continent’s biggest economy and serves as a diplomatic heavyweight. The new chancellor's portfolio would include the war in Ukraine and the Trump administration’s trade policy on top of domestic issues, such as the rise of a far-right, anti-immigrant party.

“The world is in turmoil. Europe needs a strong Germany,” Carsten Linnemann, the secretary-general of the Christian Democrats, told reporters after Merz’s loss. He said a second vote should come soon. “We can’t wait for days now, we need clarity quickly.”

by Anonymousreply 1May 6, 2025 12:53 PM

Fred Mertz couldn't even be elected dogcatcher in Albuquerque!

by Anonymousreply 2May 6, 2025 2:35 PM

He was so cocky. Lol.

by Anonymousreply 3May 6, 2025 2:57 PM
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