Shock in Germany as Merz falls short in initial chancellor vote
Merz received 310 votes in the 630-seat Bundestag, short of the 316 needed to secure his long-awaited election to succeed Olaf Scholz.
The vote is a major embarrassment for Merz, whose incoming coalition - made up of the Christian Democrats (CDU), the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU) and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) - holds 328 seats in Germany's lower house of parliament.
The result takes Germany into unprecedented waters, with no candidate for chancellor ever having failed to secure an absolute majority in the first round of voting.
According to the Basic Law, Germany's de facto constitution, lawmakers have 14 days to elect a chancellor with an absolute majority.
Subsequently, only a simple majority would be needed to elect a chancellor.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier would then have seven days to formally appoint the elected candidate as chancellor, or instead choose to dissolve the Bundestag and hold new elections.
Merz received 310 votes in favour, with 307 lawmakers voting against. Three abstained, one was invalid, and nine votes were missing.
The unexpected result comes two and a half months after Merz's CDU/CSU bloc won February's parliamentary elections.
The 69-year-old forged a coalition agreement with the SPD which was signed on Monday in Berlin.
Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who received an official farewell ceremony on Monday evening, is now to remain in office until a new chancellor is sworn in.
Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz waves in the Bundestag before the election of the Chancellor. The election and swearing-in of the German Chancellor and the new German Government takes place in the Bundestag. Kay Nietfeld/dpa
Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz (L) speaks with acting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Bundestag during the election of the Chancellor. The election and swearing-in of the German Chancellor and the new German Government takes place in the Bundestag. Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
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