Friedrich Merz suffers historic first round defeat before German parliament votes him as chancellor
Germany’s designated “right-wing extremist” party leader and Donald Trump ally called for a fresh election after parliament took an unprecedented two rounds to vote in a new chancellor.
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Germany’s conservative leader Friedrich Merz won on Tuesday a nailbiter second vote in parliament to become chancellor after he lost the first round in a stunning early setback.
Mr Merz, 69, scored an absolute majority of 325 against 289 in the secret vote in the lower house of parliament.
He takes over at the helm of a coalition between his CDU/CSU alliance and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) of the outgoing chancellor, Olaf Scholz.
The coalition won at Germany’s federal elections held in February.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) especially cheered the heavy political blow to Mr Merz, who has vowed to restore stability in Berlin after half a year of political turmoil.
“Merz should step aside and the way should be cleared for a general election,” AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said earlier, calling the first-round result a “good day for Germany”.
The first secret vote was expected to be a formality but turned to disaster for Mr Merz when he failed to muster the required absolute majority, falling short by six votes and setting off frantic crisis meetings.
Ms Weidel this week lodged a court challenge against her party’s designation by Germany’s spy agency as a “right-wing extremist” party due to the “xenophobic, anti-minority, Islamophobic and anti-Muslim statements made by leading party officials.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the designation of Ms Weidel’s party.
“Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition,” Mr Rubio said on X.
“That’s not democracy — it’s tyranny in disguise.”
Elon Musk is also a supporter of Ms Weidel.
Mr Musk appeared at her rally via videolink in January and called to congratulate her on the ground her party made during the elections in February.
Mr Merz was appointed as post-war Germany’s 10th chancellor along with his cabinet, with the new chancellor is due to visit Paris and then Warsaw on Wednesday.
His victory caps a long ambition to lead Europe’s biggest economy, which was first foiled decades ago by party rival Angela Merkel who went on to serve as chancellor for 16 years.
Merz’s eventual victory on Tuesday was bittersweet as the initial defeat – the first such outcome in Germany’s post-war history – pointed to rumblings of discontent within his uneasy coalition.
The unprecedented first-round loss was “a bad start” for Mr Merz and “shows that he cannot fully rely on his two coalition parties, wrote analyst Holger Schmieding of Berenberg Bank.
“That will sow some doubts about his ability to fully pursue his agenda, damaging his domestic and international authority at least initially.”
Mr Merz has vowed to revive the ailing economy and strengthen Berlin’s role in Europe as it responds to rapid change since US President Donald Trump returned to power.
Trump has heaped pressure on European allies, complaining they spend too little on NATO and imposing tariffs that are especially painful to export power Germany.
CDU parliamentary leader Jens Spahn had emphasised the urgency of a new government taking office, given the economic and geopolitical turbulence.
“The whole of Europe, perhaps even the whole world, is watching this second round of voting,” Spahn said before the second vote, urging MPs to “be aware of this special responsibility.”
Mr Merz, who boasts a strong business background but has never held a government leadership post, said on Monday: “We live in times of profound change, of profound upheaval … and of great uncertainty.
“And that is why we know that it is our historic obligation to lead this coalition to success,” he said.
To take over as chancellor, Mr Merz needed an absolute majority of 316 votes. But in Tuesday’s first vote, he only won the backing of 310 MPs, with 307 voting against him.
Capital Economics analyst Franziska Palmas argued Mr Merz’s initial setback “does leave Mr Merz severely weakened and suggests that hopes for more stability in German politics may be disappointed.”
- with AFP
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Originally published as Friedrich Merz suffers historic first round defeat before German parliament votes him as chancellor
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