Merz becomes German chancellor in second Bundestag vote

Friedrich Merz will be German chancellor after winning a vote in the Bundestag Tuesday afternoon, following an embarrassing initial failure that plunged Berlin into political turmoil.

The conservative leader, who was badly damaged by the unprecedented failure to secure the chancellorship in a first vote earlier in the day, secured 325 votes in the dramatic second round — above the 316 needed to win.

After the vote, Merz appeared visibly relieved.

“Madam President, I thank you for your trust and I accept the election,” Merz told the president of the Bundestag, Julia Klöckner, as his conservatives applauded enthusiastically. Olaf Scholz, the outgoing chancellor, immediately congratulated Merz with a handshake.

The 69-year-old now takes the helm of a fragile coalition consisting of his conservative bloc and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD). The coalition will hold one of the slimmest parliamentary majorities since World War II, with just 52 percent of seats.

The events earlier in the day were an unmistakable sign of Merz’s weakness as he begins his chancellorship. Before Tuesday, no presumed German chancellor had failed to be voted through by the Bundestag after striking a coalition agreement. Surveys show Merz’s approval ratings have plummeted since he won the Feb. 23 election, and his conservatives have slipped in polls.

The quick second vote was possible only after four factions — including the Greens and the Left — agreed to bypass lengthy procedures, allowing the parliament to reconvene just hours after the shock failure.

Lawmakers attributed Merz’s initial defeat to quiet dissenters within the coalition in a secret ballot.

“I suspect that there have been some dissenters in both groups, perhaps more in one than in the other,” Serap Güler, a senior lawmaker in Merz’s conservative bloc, said. “I hope that in the last few hours, our colleagues have had the opportunity to reflect, because this is not about personal sensitivities, this is about the future of our country.”