Friedrich Merz secures German chancellorship in second parliamentary vote, averting political crisis. His coalition now faces challenges like Ukraine and economic growth
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Friedrich Merz succeeded on Tuesday in his bid to become the next German chancellor during a second vote in parliament, hours after he suffered a historic defeat in the first round.
The conservative leader had been expected to smoothly win the vote to become Germany’s 10th chancellor since World War II. No other post-war candidate for chancellor has failed to win on the first ballot.
Merz received 325 votes in the second ballot.
He needed a majority of 316 out of 630 votes, but only received 310 in the first round – short of the 328 seats held by his coalition.
Because the votes were secret ballots, it was not immediately clear – and might never be known – who had defected from Merz’s camp.
Merz’s coalition is led by his centre-right Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union. They are joined by the centre-left Social Democrats led by outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who lost the national election in February.