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Friedrich Merz has failed to win a vote in the Bundestag to become Germany’s chancellor, in a shock setback that torpedoes his plans for his first week in office.
The 69-year-old Christian Democrat, who won elections in February and has teamed up with the Social Democrats to form a majority government, had been due to be sworn into office on Tuesday after what was expected to be a formality.
Merz needed 316 votes in the 630-member parliament. But he only secured 310, even though the coalition partners have 328 seats between them.
“This is a shock,” said Henning Meyer, professor at Tübingen university. “It’s never happened before at the federal level. Clearly, there are disgruntled people.”
In Tuesday’s vote, 307 Bundestag members opposed Merz, indicating that five members of his prospective coalition had switched sides, since the opposition has 302 votes. Three members abstained, while nine were absent and one vote was invalid.
It was not immediately clear when the next round of voting, in which Merz still requires an absolute majority of 316, would take place.
He could still be elected chancellor in subsequent rounds if he wins more “Yes” than “No” votes, but at a cost to his authority.
If a candidate fails to win sufficient backing from parliament, Germany’s Social Democratic President Frank-Walter Steinmeier can appoint another chancellor candidate or call new elections. Until then Olaf Scholz remains acting chancellor.
Uwe Jun, a political scientist at Trier University, described Tuesday’s vote as “a huge surprise”, adding that “clearly Merz has opponents in the coalition”.
His failure to be elected by the Bundestag strikes a severe blow to the CDU leader, who had planned to immediately set to work tackling the deep problems in Europe’s largest economy, which has suffered years of stagnation.
Merz had been due to travel to Paris on Wednesday to meet President Emmanuel Macron in what was intended to be a demonstration of his commitment to the Franco-German partnership.
“The whole of Europe looked to Berlin today in the hope that Germany would reassert itself as an anchor of stability and a pro-European powerhouse,” said Jana Puglierin, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “That hope has been dashed. With consequences way beyond our borders.”
In an initial reaction to the vote, Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany, called for new elections, arguing that Merz’s unprecedented failure revealed the “shakiness of the foundation” of his prospective coalition.
European stocks weakened after the news, hitting session lows, with Germany’s Dax index down 1.7 per cent, and the broader Stoxx 600 index down 0.8 per cent.
Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg bank, said Tuesday’s upset was “a significant negative” for the German economy.
While he said Merz was still likely to get elected, he added: “This shows that the coalition is not united, which could weaken his ability to pursue policies.”
Merz has angered some within the more conservative wing of his CDU/CSU grouping by loosening the constitutional borrowing limit and embarking on a €1tn debt-fuelled spending programme to modernise the country’s military and its ageing infrastructure.
Lars Klingbeil, the Social Democrat co-leader who had been due to take office as vice-chancellor and finance minister, has also faced internal criticism after his party suffered its worst electoral defeat with just 16 per cent of the votes in February.
Additional reporting by Ian Smith in London