Wednesday, May 7
“Not funny”: Friedrich Merz stumbles into role as German chancellor
Never before had a prospective German chancellor failed to win enough votes to be elected to office, but that was precisely what transpired yesterday as CDU leader Friedrich Merz underwent a humbling experience, falling six votes short of the 316 required to begin his term. For much of the day, it was unclear whether he would make it at all: the AfD called for new elections, and it seemed we might have to wait until Friday to learn whether he would become the 10th Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. In the end, he scraped through in a second round of voting, gaining 325 votes in a secret ballot held later in the day. He made it – just – though not before being transmitted a painful assessment of his popularity.
Merz should, in theory, have been able to count on the support of his prospective coalition. The SPD and CDU members who will form the next government hold 328 seats in parliament, comfortably more than the 316 needed. Clearly, then, some members on his own team had other ideas. As the vote was conducted by secret ballot, the identity of the dissenters remains unknown (for now, at least).
After the vote, Berlin politicians reacted with solemnity. Mayor Kai Wegner declared that this was “no time for individual power games at the expense of our country’s stability”, while spokespeople from the Green Party and the Left said the defeat would be “hanging around his neck” and a “tribute to failed policies”, respectively. Meanwhile, a Brandenburg MdB wanted to remind those watching on that the entire spectacle was “not funny”.
