The far-right party "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) expressed satisfaction with the failure of the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Friedrich Merz to be elected chancellor in the first vote in the Bundestag. This was reported by DPA, BTA reports.
Merz fell just six votes short of an absolute majority and taking office.
AfD co-chair Alice Weidel commented that the result reflects the "weak foundation" on which Merz's new coalition, which includes the CDU, the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) and the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) of the outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“Merz suffered a blow right from the start“, wrote Bernd Baumann, the first secretary of the AfD parliamentary group, on the “Ex“ platform. He accused the candidate for chancellor of “paying the price for all his machinations on the eve of the vote“, as well as for “manipulation of the election results, the likes of which Germany has never seen before“.
The AfD is the main opposition force in the country, having finished second in early parliamentary elections in February.
Meanwhile, Reuters, citing the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, reported that a second vote to confirm Merz and his draft cabinet was not expected today. According to the German constitution, the next vote - which would require only a simple majority - must be held within 14 days.