Right-wing sovereigntists the AfD called for fresh national elections after, for the first time in history, the would-be next chancellor failed to be elected to lead by the parliament he theoretically commands.
Chancellor apparent Freidrich Merz, who leads the two-party coalition that was due to take power on Tuesday failed in what until now had always been thought of as a pure formality, his election as Chancellor by the Bundestag German parliament.
Merz got 310 of 621 votes cast, but needed 316 of an absolute house majority to be made the next Chancellor of Germany. Theoretically Merz commands the house, with the support of his own Christian Democrats (CDU, centre-right globalist) supported by the Social Democrats (SPD, centre-left globalists) as agreed in the parties’ coalition agreement.
dpatop – 06 May 2025, Berlin: Angela Merkel (CDU), former Federal Chancellor, waves in the gallery before the election of the Chancellor in the Bundestag. The election and swearing-in of the Federal Chancellor and the new Federal Government takes place in the Bundestag. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa (Photo by Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance via Getty Images)
It is stated Merz fell short of the threshold because several members failed to turn up to vote, one ballot was spoilt or invalid, and three who were present abstained. The news was revealed to the floor as former Chancellor Angela Merkel looked on from the VIP area of the visitor’s gallery.
Outgoing Chancellor the leftist Olaf Scholz will continue for now as a caretaker leader.
While this has never happened before, Germany’s post-war constitution — ‘The Basic Law’ — does have provisions for what now happens next under article 69. Another vote can be called immediately, if necessary, with the absolute majority of over half the Bundestag needed to vote in his favour.
Should he fail to clear that hurdle, third and further votes can continue to be called for a fortnight, and these are by a simple majority — meaning a majority of those present, not of all sworn members. Yet at this point an untried provision kicks in, and if Merz were selected by the lesser simple majority vote, the German Federal President has the discretion to either accept him as Chancellor, or to decide the process has failed and call fresh national elections and choose a whole new Bundestag.
Evidently in favour of such an outcome would be the official opposition, the Alternative for Germany (AfD, right-wing sovereigntist), who are the second-largest party in the Bundestag but who were snubbed by the CDU in favour of a left-right centrist coalition. AfD leader Alice Weidel said after this historic stumble, the “best thing for our country” would be to go straight to a snap election rather than play out “the slow demise of Friedrich Merz” before, she said, later coming to fresh elections anyway.
Being the first Chancellor candidate to not even be able to command enough votes in the Bundestag to secure his own election to post demonstrates “the weak foundation on which the small coalition” is built, she said.
The Green Party, a minor opposition faction in the Bundestag, also decried the weakness on display, saying a government capable of delivering needs to at least be able to pass laws in parliament. Senior party figure Katrin Göring-Eckardt said even though she didn’t support a Chancellor Merz, Green supporters should not “rejoice in chaos” at the news.
Germany’s Welt newspaper notes the markets have reacted negatively to the news, given the failed election clearly signals more government instability is yet to come. Their report cited Düsseldorf professor of economics Jens Südekum who said: “The fact that Merz has now failed in the first round of voting sends a devastating signal to society and the economy: the ranks are not united”.
They further quoted Marcel Fratzscher, President of the German Institute for Economic Research: “Merz’s election defeat underscores how… the coalition agreement is met with deep rejection by numerous members of parliament”.
While the date for the next parliament vote to try again on confirming Merz as chancellor has not yet been set, it looks likely it will be rapid, with several political factions saying they would support a do-over the following day, Wednesday, or even as early as again on Tuesday. Whatever the timing, Merz and his faction doubtless will at least want enough time to discover who was absent from the secret ballot and to whip his members into voting as instructed.
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