Friedrich Merz's bid to become Germany's 10th chancellor fails first ballot
Conservative leader
Friedrich Merz
's bid to become
Germany
's 10th chancellor since the
second World War
failed in the first round of voting in parliament on Tuesday by six votes, a vote he had been widely expected to win smoothly.
Mr Merz needed a majority of 316 out of 630 votes in a secret ballot.
He only received 310 votes.
Friedrich Merz reacts after he was not elected Germany's new chancellor in the first voting process at the parliament Bundestag in Berlin. Photograph: Markus Schreiber/AP
The parties were to regroup to discuss the next step but it was not immediately clear how long the process could take.
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The lower house of parliament – called the Bundestag – has 14 days to elect a candidate with an absolute majority.
If that also fails, the constitution allows for the president to appoint the candidate who wins the most votes as chancellor, or to dissolve the Bundestag and hold a new national election.
Mr Merz is seeking to take the helm of the 27-nation European Union's most populous member after outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government collapsed last year.
Germany has the continent's biggest economy and serves as a diplomatic heavyweight.
Mr Merz's portfolio would include the war in Ukraine and the Trump administration's trade policy on top of domestic issues such as the stagnant economy and the rise of a far-right, anti-immigrant party. – PA
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Irish Daily Star
an hour ago
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U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz held a bilateral meeting on Thursday. The pair discussed several important topics, such as NATO , the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and trade. Trump, 78, welcomed Merz to the White House at 11:40 a.m. and the pair shook hands before retreating into the West Wing to hold the meeting. During the meeting, Trump was asked about the barrage of attacks made by the former Department of Government Efficiency head. "Well, look, I like Elon and I was very surprised," Trump said. "You saw the words he had for me and he hasn't said anything about me which is bad," Trump added. " I would rather have him criticize me than the bill. Because the bill is incredible." Read More Related Articles Sisters, 9, 8 and 5, found dead on planned father visitation had zip-tied bags over heads Read More Related Articles Liam Neeson opened up about friends who died on hunger strike during the Troubles "It's the biggest cut in the history of our country we've ever cut, Trump added. "It's about 1.6 trillion cuts." The Associated Press reported that the German leader will likely speak in-depth about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. In a statement Thursday morning, the German Chancellor said that "the meeting has been well prepared on all sides." Merz teased the agenda with Trump by saying,"We will have to talk about NATO — we changed the constitution in Germany so that we can spend the means that need to be spent." He added, "We want to become the strongest conventional army in the European Union." According to Merz, he does not expect to have any major breakthrough with Trump on those key issues. A White House official also stated Trump is likely to raise with Merz include Germany's defense spending, trade, Ukraine and what the official called 'democratic backsliding." The Trump administration has claimed that the countries' shared values, such as freedom of speech, have allegedly deteriorated in Germany and that the country should reverse its course. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Merz stated that if Trump wanted to talk about German domestic politics, he was willing to do so; however, he also stressed that Germany held back about discussing American domestic policies. For all the latest news straight to your inbox, sign up for our FREE newsletters here .
The Journal
2 hours ago
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Capéta said these interferences cannot be justified by the reasons put forward by Hungary, which tried to argue for the law on the basis of protection of the 'healthy development of minors' and the 'right of parents to raise their children according to their personal convictions'. The Advocate General said the Hungarian legislation is not limited to shielding minors from pornographic content, which was already prohibited by the law in Hungary prior to the 2021 legislation, and goes as far as prohibiting the portrayal of ordinary lives of LGBTQ+ people. She said that Hungary has not offered any proof of a potential risk of harm of content that portrays ordinary lives of LGBTQ+ people to the healthy development of minors and that consequently, its legislation is 'based on a value judgment that homosexual and non-cisgender life is not of equal value or status as heterosexual and cisgender life'. 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