Friedrich Merz was elected as Germany ’s new chancellor on Tuesday after winning the second round of voting, just hours after his unprecedented failure to secure a majority in the first ballot.
His initial defeat was historic, marking the first time in post-war Germany that a chancellor candidate failed to win in the first round. The conservative leader had been widely expected to win smoothly and become Germany’s 10th chancellor since World War II.
In the second round, Merz got 325 votes out of 630, enough to win a clear majority, while 289 voted against him.
Despite the initial setback, analysts still believed Merz would become chancellor. “Merz will most likely still be elected as chancellor in the end,” said Holger Schmieding of Berenberg Bank. “But even so, the unprecedented failure to be elected in the first round would still be a bad start for him.”
After Merz's defeat in the first ballot, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said, “Merz should step aside and the way should be cleared for a general election,” calling the failed vote a “good day for Germany.”
The 69-year-old conservative leader now takes the helm of a coalition between his CDU/CSU alliance and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) of the outgoing Chancellor, Olaf Scholz .
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said she would work with Merz for a 'strong' Europe.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy congratulated the newly elected chancellor and said that he hopes for 'more German leadership' in the West under Merz.
What if Merz had lost?
Had Friedrich Merz lost the second-round election for Chancellor, the Bundestag (German parliament) would have had 14 days to elect a candidate with an absolute majority. During this period, Merz could have run again, but other lawmakers could also have put themselves forward. There is no limit to the number of votes that could take place within these two weeks. If no candidate had secured a majority, Germany’s president could have appointed the candidate with the most votes as Chancellor or dissolved the Bundestag, leading to a new national election.
Merz's biographer, Volker Resing, mentioned that if Merz won the second round, people would likely forget the first-round setback. However, Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right AfD party, criticised Merz's failure, saying it showed that his coalition had a "weak foundation". Despite the AfD’s strong showing in February’s elections, they were excluded from coalition talks due to the long-standing "firewall" against far-right cooperation in German politics.
Also read: Who is Friedrich Merz? Germany’s New Chancellor elected after rare second ballot
His initial defeat was historic, marking the first time in post-war Germany that a chancellor candidate failed to win in the first round. The conservative leader had been widely expected to win smoothly and become Germany’s 10th chancellor since World War II.
In the second round, Merz got 325 votes out of 630, enough to win a clear majority, while 289 voted against him.
Despite the initial setback, analysts still believed Merz would become chancellor. “Merz will most likely still be elected as chancellor in the end,” said Holger Schmieding of Berenberg Bank. “But even so, the unprecedented failure to be elected in the first round would still be a bad start for him.”
After Merz's defeat in the first ballot, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said, “Merz should step aside and the way should be cleared for a general election,” calling the failed vote a “good day for Germany.”
The 69-year-old conservative leader now takes the helm of a coalition between his CDU/CSU alliance and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) of the outgoing Chancellor, Olaf Scholz .
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said she would work with Merz for a 'strong' Europe.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy congratulated the newly elected chancellor and said that he hopes for 'more German leadership' in the West under Merz.
What if Merz had lost?
Had Friedrich Merz lost the second-round election for Chancellor, the Bundestag (German parliament) would have had 14 days to elect a candidate with an absolute majority. During this period, Merz could have run again, but other lawmakers could also have put themselves forward. There is no limit to the number of votes that could take place within these two weeks. If no candidate had secured a majority, Germany’s president could have appointed the candidate with the most votes as Chancellor or dissolved the Bundestag, leading to a new national election.
Merz's biographer, Volker Resing, mentioned that if Merz won the second round, people would likely forget the first-round setback. However, Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right AfD party, criticised Merz's failure, saying it showed that his coalition had a "weak foundation". Despite the AfD’s strong showing in February’s elections, they were excluded from coalition talks due to the long-standing "firewall" against far-right cooperation in German politics.
Also read: Who is Friedrich Merz? Germany’s New Chancellor elected after rare second ballot
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