Merz clinches chancellorship on second attempt amid turmoil
The Bundestag elected CDU leader Friedrich Merz as the Chancellor of Germany on the second attempt. The previous vote ended in defeat for the politician, which commentators see as a setback for the entire Federal Republic of Germany.
The candidate of the three-party coalition of the CDU, CSU, and SPD was supported by 325 members of parliament in a secret ballot, announced Bundestag President Julia Kloeckner. The required absolute majority was 316 votes. Two hundred eighty-nine parliamentarians voted against.
In the first vote, held before noon, Merz unexpectedly did not secure the required absolute majority of 316 votes. It was the first such case in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. He was backed by 310 members in the secret ballot. Eighteen coalition deputies did not participate in the vote, even though they were in the Bundestag building, or voted against their own candidate.
The largest opposition party, the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), is demanding Merz's resignation from candidacy and calling for early elections.
The media and politicians from other groups considered the result of the first vote a significant defeat for Friedrich Merz, complicating the start of his government. The CDU/CSU and SPD clubs, in agreement with the Greens and the Left, after several hours of consultations, decided to change the Bundestag's rules by a two-thirds majority to allow a re-vote on the same day. Otherwise, a three-day break would have been necessary.
"A defeat for Merz and all of Germany"
The German daily "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" commented that the defeat of Friedrich Merz, designated as Chancellor, in the Bundestag vote is an unprecedented event in the history of the FRG, and the resulting damage is already enormous.
"(...) We can already say that his term as chancellor is a historical event because his own coalition did not trust him at the very beginning," wrote Nicolas Richter.
Instead of embarking on a trip to Paris and Warsaw, Merz must now face the second round of voting. "It is a defeat for both Merz and the entire Federal Republic," the commentator assessed.
