German parliamentarians elected conservative leader Friedrich Merz as chancellor on Tuesday afternoon in a second round of voting after his new alliance with the centre-left Social Democrats was dealt a surprise defeat in the first attempt.
Merz’s initial failure to win parliamentary backing was a first for post-war Germany and an embarrassment for a man who has promised to revive economic growth at a time of global turbulence.
His CDU/CSU alliance won February’s federal election and secured a coalition deal with the centre-left Social Democrats.
Their deal has mapped out plans to revive growth, such as reducing corporate taxes and lowering energy prices. It is also promising strong support for Ukraine and higher military spending.
Merz, 69, who began his political career as a European lawmaker in 1989, has yet to demonstrate his leadership abilities in the political executive as his appointment marks his first time holding a government office.
Only one minister from the previous government will retain his position, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. The rest of Merz’s cabinet are new appointees, many with private-sector experience.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was preparing to swear in Merz as post-war Germany’s 10th chancellor later on Tuesday, along with the cabinet, before Merz is due to visit Paris and then Warsaw on Wednesday.
Merz was elected by a vote of 325 to 289 on a secret ballot in the second vote in the lower house of parliament.
In the earlier vote, he managed only 310 votes, falling short of the required 316 out of 630 lawmakers, even though the coalition partners have 328 seats between them.
After the result was announced, a visibly shaken Merz left the chamber for emergency talks with his parliamentary group, the usual seamless choreography that accompanies a change of government leader in Germany in tatters.
“Hardly anyone expected this scenario,” Andrea Römmele, a politics professor at the Hertie School in Berlin, told the public broadcaster ARD.
“A chancellor must have a majority to be able to govern. If it’s not enough at the beginning, what will happen when the going gets tough?”
Merz is looking to take charge at a critical moment and the reverse in parliament was a huge embarrassment for someone already suffering from low approval ratings among voters.
The economy is stagnating after two years of recession, Russia’s war on Ukraine is still raging to the east and support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is strengthening, especially in the former communist eastern regions.
The anti-immigrant party, which was formally classified as right-wing extremist last week by the domestic security service, has overtaken Merz’s bloc in some polls and is now the main opposition force in the Bundestag.
AfD lawmakers celebrated Merz’s early stumble, with co-leader Alice Weidel saying in a post on social media that “this demonstrates what a weak foundation” his coalition was built on.
Jan van Aken, the co-leader of the far-left opposition Linke party, also weighed in.
“If he can’t even unite his own people here in the Berlin bubble, how is he supposed to unite the country?” van Aken asked rhetorically.