Conservative leader
Friedrich Merz succeeded Tuesday in becoming Germany’s next chancellor, drawing applause and a palpable sense of relief in the parliament chamber after a historic loss in the first round of voting threatened
the new government’s promises of stability.
No other postwar candidate for German chancellor has failed to win on the first ballot. The stunning but short-lived defeat sent shock waves throughout Europe and dragged down the stock market. The DAX, the index of major German companies, fell by 1.8% at one point.
The first round of voting, which was conducted by secret ballot, could affect Merz’s
prospects for success and bring trouble to his coalition’s agenda, which includes reviving a stagnant economy and dealing with the rise of the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party.
As the most populous member state of the
27-nation European Union and
the continent’s biggest economy, Germany is Europe’s diplomatic and economic heavyweight. Many had hoped Merz’s ascension would help the continent navigate
the war in Ukraine and the
confrontational trade policy of U.S. President Donald Trump.
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Merz had been expected to easily win the vote to become Germany’s 10th chancellor since World War II, but the first ballot in the lower house of parliament unexpectedly left him with 310 votes — well short of the 328 seats held by his coalition.
Hours later in the second round, he earned 325 votes, surpassing the 316 needed to pass in the 630-seat Bundestag.
Because the votes were cast secretly, it was not immediately clear — and might never be — who defected from Merz’s camp.
Merz’s coalition is led by his center-right Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union. They are joined by the center-left Social Democrats led by outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who lost the national election in February.
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The U.S. administration has bashed Germany repeatedly since Trump’s inauguration in January. Trump, who has German roots, often expressed his dislike of former Chancellor Angela Merkel during his first term.
This time around, Trump’s lieutenants are at the forefront — tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk
has supported AfD for months. He hosted a chat with co-leader Alice Weidel that he livestreamed on X earlier this year to amplify her party’s message.
AfD is the biggest opposition party in Germany’s new parliament after it placed
second in February’s elections. Despite its historic gains, it was shut out of coalition talks due to the so-called “firewall” that mainstream German political parties have upheld against cooperating with far-right parties since the end of the war.
Vice President JD Vance, during the Munich Security Conference in February, assailed the creation of the
firewall and later met with Weidel, a move that German officials heavily criticized.
Last week, the German domestic intelligence service said it has classified AfD
as a “right-wing extremist” organization, making it subject to greater and broader surveillance.
The decision by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution prompted blowback from
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and
Vance over the weekend.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry hit back at Rubio after he called on the country to drop the classification.
The domestic intelligence service’s measure does not amount to a ban of the party, which can only be imposed through a request by either of parliament’s two chambers or by the federal government through the Federal Constitutional Court.
Merz has not commented publicly on the intelligence service’s decision.
