Merz in Germany

Germany's conservative leaders unexpectedly made no majority in parliamentary votes and became prime minister.

Friedrich Merz needed 316 votes in the 630-seat Bundestag, but only 310, a major blow to the Christian Democratic leader, two and a half months after winning the German federal election.

His alliance with the Centre has enough seats in parliament, but there seem to be 18 MPs expected to support him. Myers' failure in the first vote is considered unprecedented in modern German history.

Now, the Bundestag will have 14 days to choose Merz or other candidates as prime minister, more than half of them.

According to the German Constitution, there is no limit on how many votes can be held, but if the absolute majority is not reached during that period, the candidate can be elected by a simple majority.

No further votes are expected to be immediately, and there is an atmosphere of chaos.

Bundestag President Julia Klöckner is said to have a second vote on Wednesday, although Christian Democratic Party Secretary General Carsten Linnemann said he hopes for a second round at the end of the day.

He told German TV: “Europe needs a strong Germany, which is why we can't wait for a few days.”

Political commentators viewed Melz's failure as a humiliation, possibly caused by a few disgruntled members of the SPD, SPD, which signed a coalition agreement with his conservatives on Monday.

The federal president told members of Congress that nine out of 630 members were absent, three abstentions, and another voting paper was declared invalid.

Not everyone in the SPD is happy with the deal, but party officials insist that their party is completely committed to it.

“It’s a secret vote, so no one knows,” senior Social Democratic MP Ralf Stegner told the BBC, “but I can tell you that I don’t have the slightest impression of our parliamentary groups not knowing our responsibilities.”

Myers' historicity of failure will make it difficult for him to drive. Since 1949, no candidate has failed in this way.

The embarrassment of the vote on Tuesday undermined Merz's hopes for the weakness and antidote of the last administration, which collapsed late last year.

The alternative German alternative to far-right parties, ranked second in the February general election, with 20.8% of the votes being seized due to failure and calling for new elections.

Co-leader Alice Weidel wrote on X that the vote showed that “the minor league has been built between (conservatives) and SPD, which was rejected by voters.”

Merz's choice Foreign Secretary John Wadephul, a colleague in the Christian Democratic Party, told the BBC that the vote was a “block, but not a disaster”.

“Of course, we will try to use Friedrich Merz as a candidate for the league. I believe he will be elected and he will be the next prime minister.”

Germany's transfer of government has been carefully arranged. On the eve of Monday's vote, outgoing Prime Minister Olaf Scholz was treated with a traditional big tattoo by the armed forces band.

Merz, 69, is expected to win the vote and then visit President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to take the oath of office, realizing his long-standing ambition to become the German Chancellor.

His rival and former Prime Minister Angela Merkel came to the Bundestag to watch the vote.

The guardian ministers from Germany's outgoing government are all planning to hand over to their successors on Tuesday afternoon.

Mel's immediate decision now will be with his league partners to decide whether a second vote should be pushed and risk losing again.

His failure could lead to a split within the league.

The federal government's political correspondent said that failure to support Meles' political communications said there were potential problems even if the alliance eventually came to power.

AFD MP Bernd Baumann said the CDU promised a series of policies similar to his own party, such as restricting immigration and then allying with the center left: “That doesn't work. It's not how democracy works.”

“This is not good,” warned the green politician Katrin Göring-Eckardt. “Even if I don't want this prime minister or support him, I can only warn everyone not to rejoice in the chaos.”

Less than 24 hours ago, under a stable government, the news spread in Germany was very different, ending the six-month political paralysis.

“It is our historical responsibility to make this government successful,” Melz said in signing the alliance documents.

Despite the overwhelming majority of 12 seats, the agreement between the conservatives and the remaining center is more stable than the so-called three-party traffic light coalition, which collapsed in a row last November on debt spending.

SPD was once the largest party in the old coalition, with the worst elections after the war falling to third place, but Meers had promised Germany to return and he would raise his voice on the world stage and revitalize the flag economy.

After a two-year recession, Europe's largest economy grew in the first three months of 2025. But economists warn of potential risks in German exports due to tariffs imposed by the United States.

Germany's service industry signed a contract last month due to weak demand and low consumer spending.