Friedrich Merz's bid to become Germany's 10th chancellor fails first ballot

Berlin | In a historic first, conservative leader Friedrich Merz's bid to become Germany's 10th chancellor since World War II failed in the first round of voting in parliament on Tuesday by six votes, a stunning defeat as he had been widely expected to win smoothly.

A candidate for chancellor has never failed to win on the first ballot since the end of the war. Merz needed a majority of 316 out of 630 votes in a secret ballot. He only received 310 votes — well short of the 328 seats held by his coalition.

The parties were now to regroup to discuss the next step but it was not immediately clear how long the process could take.

The lower house of parliament — called the Bundestag — has 14 days to elect a candidate with an absolute majority. Merz can run again, but other lawmakers can also throw their hat in the ring. There is no limit to the number of votes that can be held within the two-week period.

If Merz or any other candidate fails to get that majority during the period of 14 days, the constitution allows for the president to appoint the candidate who wins the most votes as chancellor, or to dissolve the Bundestag and hold a new national election.

Merz is seeking to take the helm of the 27-nation European Union's most populous member after outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government collapsed last year.

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

80th anniversary of World War II

Tuesday's vote was held on the eve of the 80th anniversary of Germany's unconditional surrender in World War II. The ballots are secret and cast in the restored Reichstag, where graffiti left by Soviet troops has been preserved at several locations in the building.

Merz's failure in the voting adds to the challenges ahead — whoever is elected chancellor will face questions about the future of the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party, also known as AfD.

Mainstream German political parties refuse to work with it, citing the so-called “firewall” they've upheld against cooperating with far-right parties since the end of the war.

AfD's rise

Last week, the German domestic intelligence service said it has classified AfD — which placed second in national elections in February — as a “right-wing extremist” organisation, making it subject to greater and broader surveillance.

Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution described the party as a threat to the country's democratic order, saying it “disregards human dignity” — in particular by what it called “ongoing agitation” against refugees and migrants.

The federal office's decision prompted blowback from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Vice President JD Vance over the weekend. Germany's Foreign Ministry hit back at Rubio after he called on the country to undo the classification.

The domestic intelligence service's measure does not amount to a ban of the party, which can only take place through a request by either of parliament's two chambers or the federal government through the Federal Constitutional Court.

Merz has not commented publicly on the intelligence service's decision.

The new coalition

Germany's new coalition is led by Merz's centre-right Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, and joined by the centre-left Social Democrats, Scholz's party. All three parties previously approved the coalition deal.

The coalition aims to spur economic growth, ramp up defence spending, take a tougher approach to migration and catch up on long-neglected modernisation.

The Union and Social Democrats have governed Germany together before, in the 1960s, and then in three of the four terms of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, who led the country from 2005 to 2021.

Merz's party last month announced its proposed government team, including senior lawmaker Johann Wadephul as foreign minister — a position the CDU last held in the 1960s.