A bombshell in the Bundestag: CDU leader Friedrich Merz has failed the first round of voting for Federal Chancellor. As Bundestag President Julia Klöckner (CDU) announced on Tuesday, Merz only received 310 votes in a secret ballot - six fewer than necessary. 307 MPs voted against Merz, three abstained and one vote was invalid. This is the first time in German history that a candidate for chancellor has failed in the first round of voting.
The Bundestag session was then interrupted to allow the parliamentary groups to discuss the next steps. According to Article 63 of the Basic Law, a further ballot can take place “within fourteen days”. Here, too, Merz would have to win the so-called chancellor majority of 316 of the 630 members of the Bundestag.
According to Klöckner, 621 of the 630 MPs took part in the first round of voting. The CDU/CSU and SPD together have 328 votes.
If this chancellor majority is not achieved within the 14-day period, the Basic Law stipulates that “a new ballot will be held immediately” in which the candidate with the most votes will be elected. If the result of the vote corresponds to the majority of the members of the Bundestag, the Federal President must appoint him within seven days of the election.
If the candidate does not reach this threshold, the Federal President has two options: Either he appoints the candidate or he dissolves the Bundestag.
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