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Friedrich Merz has failed to win a vote in the Bundestag to become the Chancellor of Germany, in a shock obstacle to torturing his plans for his first week in office.
The 69-year-old Christian Democrat, who won the elections in February and joined the Social Democrats to form a majority government, was due to swear on Tuesday after what was expected to be a formality.
Merzi needed 316 votes in the 630 -member parliament. But he only provided 310, although coalition partners have 328 seats among them.
“This is a friend,” said Henning Meyer, a professor at Tübingen University. “Never happened before at the federal level. It is clear that there are unhappy people.”
In Tuesday’s vote, 307 Bundestag members opposed Merz, while three abstained and nine were absent. A vote was invalid.
It was not clear immediately when the next round of voting would take place, in which Merz requires an absolute majority of 316, would take place.
He could still be elected Chancellor in later rounds if he wins more “yes” than “not” votes “, but at a cost to his authority.
If a candidate fails to gain sufficient support from parliament, Germany’s Social Democratic President Frank-Walter Steinmeier may appoint another chancellor candidate or call new elections. Until then Olaf Scholz remains the chancellor of duty.
Uwe Jun, a political scientist at Trier, described Tuesday’s vote as “a great surprise”, adding that “Merz clearly has opponents in the coalition”.
His unparalleled failure to be elected by the Bundestag strikes a severe blow to the CDU leader, who had planned to work immediately, addressing deep problems in Europe’s largest economy, which has suffered years of stagnation.
Merz had been due to a trip to Paris on Wednesday to meet President Emmanuel Macron in what was intended to be a demonstration of his commitment to the Franco-German partnership.
“All of Europe watched today in Berlin in the hope that Germany would be reaffirmed as an anchor of stability and a pro-European power plant,” said Jana Puglieri, a senior policy associate at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “This hope has been destroyed. With consequences beyond our borders.”
European shares were weakened after the news, hitting the session below, with the German Dax Index below 1.7 percent, and the wider stoxx 600 below 0.8 percent.
Holger Schmioeding, the chief of economist in Berenberg Bank, said Tuesday’s concern was “an important negative” for the German economy.
While he said Merz is still likely to be resolved, he added: “This shows that the coalition is not united, which can weaken its ability to pursue politics.”
Merz has angered some within the most conservative wing of his CDU/CSU grouping by releasing the constitutional borrowing limit and introducing a spending program driven by 1 € to modernize the country’s army and its aging infrastructure.
Lars Klingbeil, co-lead Social Democrat who had been to take office as a Vice-Branch and Minister of Finance, has also faced internal criticism after his party suffered its worst election loss with only 16 percent of the vote in February.
Additional reporting by Ian Smith to London
