The leader of the German conservatives, Friedrich Merz, failed on Tuesday to secure the parliamentary majority needed to become chancellor in the first round of voting, which was an unexpected setback for his new coalition with the center-left Social Democrats, reports Reuters.
The 69-year-old Merz, who led the CDU/CSU conservatives to victory in the federal elections in February and subsequently entered into a coalition agreement with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), received only 310 votes in the lower house of parliament, Bundestag President Julia Klöckner reported. He needs 316 votes to secure a majority.
Klöckner announced that she was adjourning the parliamentary session to allow parliamentary factions to consult on how to proceed.
The lower house of parliament now has 14 days to elect Merz or another candidate for chancellor with an absolute majority of votes, with the next vote possibly taking place as early as today.
Merz's conservatives won the national elections in February, securing 28.5% of the votes, but they need at least one partner to form a majority government.
On Monday, they signed a coalition agreement with the center-left Social Democrats, who garnered only 16.4%, marking their worst result in Germany's post-war history. However, this was still not enough to elect a new chancellor.
The elections are taking place against the backdrop of the far-right party "Alternative for Germany," which received a record number of votes in the February elections and came in second, securing 210 seats in parliament, being recognized as an extremist organization "threatening democracy." Moreover, after the elections, polls showed "AfD" leading among all parties, surpassing Merz's CDU/CSU.
Photo: Reuters