German conservative leader Friedrich Merz failed to garner the parliamentary majority needed to become chancellor on Tuesday in a first round of voting in an unexpected setback for his new coalition with the center-left Social Democrats.
The result marks an unanticipated setback for Merz who was widely expected to secure the necessary votes and be officially sworn in later in the day.
After the result of the vote was announced the parliamentary session was halted to allow for factions to discuss among themselves. A second vote is expected at some point.
Merz, 69, who led his CDU/CSU conservatives to win a federal election in February and since secured a coalition deal with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), won just 310 votes in the lower house of parliament, Bundestag President Julia Kloeckner said. He missed the required number of votes to form the majority by just 6 votes.
Kloeckner said she was interrupting the parliamentary session so that the parliamentary groups could consult on how to proceed.
The lower house of parliament now has 14 days to elect Merz or another candidate chancellor with an outright majority – and could attempt another vote already on Tuesday.
This is a developing story and will be updated soon.
Written by Kelly Were
