Friedrich Merz’s bid to become Germany’s 10th chancellor has shockingly failed in the first round of voting in parliament by six votes.
Merz, the conservative leader, was expected to win the vote on Tuesday.
But for the first time of in the Federal Republic’s history, the candidate to become Chancellor fell at the first hurdle.
He needed a majority of 316 out of 630 votes in a secret ballot, but only received 310.
His family left the public gallery immediately after the decision.
Alice Weidel, the co-leader of the AfD, who came second in February’s election, was seen smiling in response to the surprising result.
She called on him to ‘resign immediately’ and for the country to hold a fresh election.
The lower house of parliament – called the Bundestag – now has 14 days to elect a candidate with an absolute majority, according to German law.
If that also fails, 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.
The result represents a significant blow to the Christian Democrat leader, who won Germany’s Federal Elections in February.
Merz (C) reacts after he was not elected in the first ballot at the Bundestag
Alice Weidel, the co-leader of the AfD, who came second in February’s election, was seen smiling in response to the surprising result
She called on him to ‘resign immediately’ and for the country to hold a fresh election
His party signed a coalition deal with the centre-left SPD yesterday, with 328 seats between the two parties indicating that Merz had enough support to win today’s vote.
But it appears 18 MPs who had been expected to back him dissented, leading to a humiliating defeat for the conservative leader.
In the end, just 310 backed Merz, with 307 voting against.
Three lawmakers abstained, with one invalid ballot, while nine MPs were absent.
The parliamentary vote is a secret ballot, meaning the votes of individual MPs will never be revealed.
The Bundestag will not hold a second vote later today, despite reports that Merz’s team was considering pushing for one.
The parties will now regroup to discuss the next steps but it was not immediately clear how long the process could take.
The vote, which came on the eve of the 80th anniversary of Germany’s unconditional surrender in World War II, was largely seen as a formality to confirm Merz as Chancellor.
He was already facing questions over the AfD’s status after it was classified as a ‘right wing extremist’ organisation by the German domestic intelligence service.
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.
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.
The CDU signed a coalition deal with the centre-left SPD yesterday, with 328 seats between the two parties indicating that Merz had enough support to win today’s vote
The parliamentary vote is a secret ballot, meaning the votes of individual lawmakers will never be revealed
The Bundestag will not hold a second vote later today, despite reports that Merz’s team was considering pushing for one
But senior figures in the White House, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, criticised the move and called on them to undo the classification.
Merz has not commented publicly on the intelligence service’s decision.
The AfD, now subject to broader surveillance, was shaping up to be a political thorn in Merz’s side.
Following the elections, the conservative leader said the fact that AfD doubled its vote share in percentage terms is a ‘real warning bell, a real alarm bell for the political parties of the centre in Germany to come up with shared solutions’.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow…
