Merz wins narrow chancellorship in Germany’s dramatic vote

Germany’s conservative leader Friedrich Merz won a nail-biting second parliamentary vote Tuesday to become chancellor after he lost the first round in a stunning early setback.

Merz, 69, scored an absolute majority of 325 to 289 in the second secret vote in the lower house of parliament to become the new leader of Europe’s biggest economy.

Unexpected setback

Merz’s win was bittersweet as the initial defeat — the first such outcome in Germany’s post-war history — pointed to rumblings of discontent within his uneasy coalition.

A Bild daily headline called the outcome “the Happy End after the Betrayal”.

Merz takes over at the helm of a coalition between his CDU/CSU alliance and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) of outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier appointed Merz as post-war Germany’s 10th chancellor before the new premier’s expected visit to Paris and then Warsaw on Wednesday.

“With a slight delay, but all the more heartfelt, my congratulations on your election,” Steinmeier told Merz at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin. “I wish you every success in what lies ahead.”

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Merz later said: “I accept this responsibility with humility but also with determination and confidence. It is good that Germany now has a federal government with a parliamentary majority again.

“We are a coalition from the centre of the political spectrum of our country and I am very confident that we will be able to solve the problems of our country.”

‘Power vacuum over’

Merz’s bumpy victory caps a long ambition to lead Germany, which was first foiled decades ago by party rival Angela Merkel who went on to serve as chancellor for 16 years.

Nonetheless, his eventual triumph means that “the six-month power vacuum at the heart of Europe is over,” wrote analyst Holger Schmieding of Berenberg Bank.

Schmieding said that Merz’s initial setback “suggests that he cannot rely on full support from the two parties backing his coalition… That will sow some doubts about his ability to pursue the policy agenda.”

But, “despite today’s temporary upset,” he added, “Merz has a proven ability to recover from temporary setbacks. For example, it had taken him three attempts to become head of his CDU party -– but he still made it in the end.”

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) especially cheered the initial vote against Merz, who has vowed to restore stability in Berlin after six months of political turmoil since Scholz’s government collapsed in November.

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“Merz should step aside and the way should be cleared for a general election,” AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said, calling the first-round result a “good day for Germany”.

Merz has also vowed a crackdown on irregular migration, in part to reduce the appeal of the AfD, which was last week designated a “right-wing extremist” party by Germany’s domestic spy service.

The first secret vote was expected to be a formality but turned to disaster for Merz when he fell short by six votes of the the required absolute majority to seal his job.

The setback stunned Germany and set off frantic crisis meetings in the Bundestag, where many feared the start of a new political crisis.

Eyes on Europe, ears on Trump

Merz has long promised to revive Germany’s ailing economy and strengthen Berlin’s role in Europe as it responds to the rapid change since US President Donald Trump returned to power.

Trump has heaped pressure on European allies, complaining they spend too little on NATO and imposing tariffs that are especially painful to export power Germany.

CDU parliamentary leader Jens Spahn had emphasised the urgency of a new government taking office, given the economic and geopolitical turbulence.

“The whole of Europe, perhaps even the whole world, is watching this second round of voting,” Spahn said before the second attempt, urging MPs to “be aware of this special responsibility”.

‘Profound upheaval’

Merz, who boasts a strong business background but has never held a government leadership post, said on Monday: “We live in times of profound change, of profound upheaval… and of great uncertainty.

“And that is why we know that it is our historic obligation to lead this coalition to success.”

Capital Economics analyst Franziska Palmas argued however that the initial setback “does leave Merz severely weakened and suggests that hopes for more stability in German politics may be disappointed”.

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