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Germany’s conservative leader, Friedrich Merz, won a closely contested second vote in parliament on Tuesday after suffering an unexpected defeat in the first round.
Merz, 69, secured an absolute majority of 325 votes compared to 289 in the second secret ballot conducted in the lower house of parliament, officially becoming the new leader of Europe’s largest economy. His eventual success was tinged with disappointment as the initial loss, marking the first such occurrence in post-war Germany, signalled signs of dissatisfaction within his fragile coalition.
A Bild daily headline referred to the day’s political drama as “the Happy End after the Betrayal.”
Merz assumes a coalition leadership that includes his CDU/CSU alliance and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), formerly led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has officially appointed Merz as the tenth chancellor of post-war Germany, ahead of the new leader’s anticipated visits to Paris and Warsaw on Wednesday.
This rocky victory fulfils Merz’s long-standing aspiration to lead Germany, a goal previously obstructed decades ago by party competitor Angela Merkel, who held the chancellorship for 16 years.
Merz has promised to implement stricter measures on irregular immigration, partly to diminish the attractiveness of the AfD, recently classified as a “right-wing extremist” group by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.
The first secret ballot was expected to be a mere formality, but it turned disastrous for Merz when he could not achieve the necessary absolute majority, falling short by six votes.
His early defeat shocked Germany and triggered a flurry of urgent crisis discussions in the Bundestag, where there were widespread concerns about the onset of a new, escalating political crisis.
