German parliament left dumbfounded as Merz fails in chancellor bid
Merz's incoming coalition - made up of his Christian Democrats (CDU), the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU) and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) - holds 328 seats in the 630-seat Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, but he received only 310 votes, six short of the necessary majority.
Leading politicians were visibly shocked by the result as it was announced in the Bundestag, with many filing out of the chamber without comment.
However, Merz's critics were quick to celebrate, with Jan van Aken from The Left saying the CDU leader "does not succeed in connecting, but only in dividing."
According to the Basic Law, Germany's de facto constitution, lawmakers have 14 days to elect a chancellor with an absolute majority.
Amid the uncertainty following the result, it was initially unclear whether a second vote would be held on Tuesday.
Speculation was rife as to why Merz was unable to secure the majority in the secret ballot, with SPD sources telling dpa that its lawmakers unanimously backed him.
Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz (C) leaves the CDU/CSU parliamentary group office in the Bundestag after failing the first round of voting in the election for Chancellor. Michael Kappeler/dpa
Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz (F) leaves the plenary chamber after losing the first round of voting, accompanied by Jens Spahn (2nd R), Chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Steffen Bilger, and Thorsten Frei (R), Federal Minister-designate for Special Tasks and Head of the Federal Chancellery. The election and swearing-in of the Federal Chancellor and the new Federal Government takes place in the Bundestag. Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz (R) reacts in the Bundestag during the election of the Chancellor. In the background, Bernd Baumann (L), first parliamentary director of the AfD parliamentary group, and Alice Weidel, federal and parliamentary group leader of the AfD, talk. Merz failed the first round of voting in the Bundestag election for Chancellor. Michael Kappeler/dpa
Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz (C) reacts in the Bundestag after failing the first round of voting in the election for Chancellor. Michael Kappeler/dpa
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