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Friedrich Merz failed to win a vote in the Bundestag to become the German Chancellor, in a shock setback which reveals his plans for his first week in power.
The 69 -year -old Christian Democrat, who won the elections in February And joined forces with the social democrats to form a majority government, was to be sworn Tuesday after what was to be a formality.
Merz needed 316 votes in the Parliament of 630 members. But he only obtained 310 in the secret ballot, even if the coalition partners have 328 seats between them.
Analysts said that even if Merz was ultimately still likely to obtain the votes he needed in Parliament, Tuesday’s results were likely to weaken his government potential before he even took up his duties.
“It’s a shock,” said Henning Meyer, professor at Tübingen University. “This has never occurred before at the federal level. Obviously, there are unhappy people. ”
European shares were weakened after the news, hitting the session, with the DAX index of Germany down 1.3%, and the wider index of Stoxx 600 down 0.7%.
During Tuesday’s vote, 307 members of Bundestag opposed Merz, indicating that five members of his potential coalition had changed camps, because the opposition has 302 votes. Three members abstained, while nine were absent and a vote was not valid.
Merz still needs an absolute majority of 316 in the next voting series, which Carsten Linnemann, secretary general of the CDU, said that he “hoped” could take place on Tuesday. For the moment, Olaf Scholz remains an acting chancellor.
If Merz fails to gain an absolute majority after 14 days, the success bar will be lowered, which will force him to earn more “yes” than the votes “no” during a final vote.
If he still fails to gain sufficient support, the German social democratic president Frank-Walter, Steinmeier, can appoint another Chancellor candidate or dissolve Parliament.
Uwe Jun, political scientist at the University of Trier, described Tuesday’s result as “a huge surprise”, adding that “clearly Merz has opponents in the coalition”.
His inability to be elected by the Bundestag takes a hard blow to the head of the CDU, who had immediately planned work to tackle the deep problems in the greatest economy in Europe, which has undergone years of stagnation.
Merz had to go to Paris on Wednesday to meet President Emmanuel Macron in what was to be a demonstration of his commitment to the Franco-German partnership.
“Europe has turned to Berlin today in the hope that Germany is reaffirming itself as an ancient stability and a pro-European power,” said Jana Puglierin, a member of the senior policy of the European Council for Foreign Relations. “This hope was wiped out. With consequences far beyond our borders. “
In a first reaction to the vote, Alice Weidel, co-chief of the extreme right alternative for Germany, called for new elections, arguing that the unprecedented failure of Merz revealed the “tremor of the foundation” of its potential.
Holger Schmieding, head economist of Berenberg Bank, said that Tuesday’s upheaval was “a significant negative” for the German economy.
Although he said that Merz was still likely to be elected, he added: “This shows that the coalition is not united, which could weaken its ability to pursue politicians.”
Merz has angry some in the most conservative wing of its CDU / CSU grouping by loosening the constitutional loan limit and embarking on a 1 TN debt expenses to modernize the military and its aging infrastructure in the country and aging.
Lars Klingbeil, the social democratic co-leader who was to take office as vice-chancellor and Minister of Finance, also faced internal criticism after his party underwent his worst electoral defeat with only 16% of the votes in February.
Additional report by Ian Smith in London
