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Germany's Merz falls short of majority in vote for chancellor
Source: BBC
Germany's conservative leader has unexpectedly fallen short of the numbers needed to form a majority in parliament to become chancellor.
Friedrich Merz needed 316 votes in the 630-seat Bundestag but only secured 310, in a significant blow to the Christian Democrat leader, two and a half months after winning Germany's federal elections.
His coalition with the centre-left has enough seats in parliament but it appears 18 MPs who had been expected to back him dissented. Merz's failure in the first vote is seen as unprecedented in modern German history.
The Bundestag will now have another 14 days to choose either Merz or another candidate as chancellor.
Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgp22zlrgko
Germany appears stunned with the heart of government in Berlin treading on uncharted path since Tuesday's vote marked the first time in the country's postwar history that a chancellor-in-waiting failed to secure a parliamentary majority to be chancellor.
Merz won the backing of only 310 lawmakers, with 307 members voting against in a vote determined by a secret ballot.
Three lawmakers abstained, with one invalid ballot, while nine lawmakers were absent.
https://p.dw.com/p/4tyXM
Merz won the backing of only 310 lawmakers, with 307 members voting against in a vote determined by a secret ballot.
Three lawmakers abstained, with one invalid ballot, while nine lawmakers were absent.
https://p.dw.com/p/4tyXM
(the combined coalition parties have 328 MPs)
What further complicates the situation is that holding another vote today (increasingly unlikely, but not fully ruled out yet) or tomorrow (actively considered) would probably require a separate procedural vote to be passed with a higher majority requires – and thus needing some support from the opposition parties.
Senior representatives of the CDU/CSU and the SPD are reportedly in talks with other parties about whether it could work. The AfD and the Left are understood to be ready to offer their votes (although one would be forgiven for thinking that they may be very much hoping for even more drama to come out of this as a result.)
For now, the session is adjourned as political consultations on next steps continue.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/may/06/friedrich-merz-german-chancellor-europe-live-latest-news?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-6819cfa08f088a65239d2a6b#block-6819cfa08f088a65239d2a6b
Senior representatives of the CDU/CSU and the SPD are reportedly in talks with other parties about whether it could work. The AfD and the Left are understood to be ready to offer their votes (although one would be forgiven for thinking that they may be very much hoping for even more drama to come out of this as a result.)
For now, the session is adjourned as political consultations on next steps continue.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/may/06/friedrich-merz-german-chancellor-europe-live-latest-news?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-6819cfa08f088a65239d2a6b#block-6819cfa08f088a65239d2a6b