Friedrich Merz was elected Chancellor by the German parliament yesterday in the second vote of his candidacy, after failing to secure an absolute majority in the first vote. His inauguration ends a six-month political stalemate in the country, but Merz's initial failure has raised concerns about the stability of the ruling coalition, the American newspaper "Washington Post" wrote this morning, BTA reports.
The candidate for chancellor was expected to easily win enough votes in the first vote in the lower house of the German parliament – the Bundestag, but he fell short by six votes. This is the first time in Germany's post-war history that a candidate for chancellor has failed to secure an absolute majority, notes the "Washington Post".
In the second ballot, Merz managed to become chancellor by receiving 325 votes in the 630-seat Bundestag. Since the ballot is secret, it is not known who did not support him during the first vote and whether these were members of his conservative camp - made up of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party, the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) - or representatives of his coalition partner - the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), the publication notes.
V. "Financial Times" described yesterday's events in Berlin in an article titled "Chancellor on hiatus: Bundestag has stung Friedrich Merz from day one".
The failure of the first vote destroyed something that newly elected chancellors value most: authority. The vote was the most striking possible example of the challenge that Merz will face throughout his term. The 69-year-old chancellor is on a mission to reform Europe's largest economy at a time of political and economic upheaval - and he is depending on a fragile parliamentary majority to do so, the "Financial Times" writes.
According to the publication, rumors have spread among conservatives that the people who failed the first vote were SPD deputies unhappy with their leader Lars Klingbeil. They had expressed their disagreement with his cabinet appointments the previous day and many were angered by his swift move to consolidate his power by taking over the leadership of the party's parliamentary group.
But SPD lawmakers rejected the accusations and pointed to signs of irritation with Merz within his own conservative bloc after he suddenly approved an increase in the country's constitutional borrowing limit and a €1 trillion spending package for the military and infrastructure, the British newspaper highlighted.
The co-chair of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) Alice Weidel and her faction, for their part, reveled in the disappointment among their coalition partners. She called for new elections between the two rounds of voting, while the other co-chair of the formation, Tino Krupala, said: "This is a good day for Germany", noted the "Financial Times".
It is not yet clear what the long-term consequences of Merz's "hard landing" as Chancellor of Germany will be, but he comes to power at a crucial moment for the national economy, security and the role of Europe, and with new questions revolving around his personality, writes the "New York Times".
Merz is a product of Germany's wealthy west - the Sauerland - a region that has shaped his politics and personality, the publication notes. His campaign was run under the slogan: "More Sauerland for Germany" - describing the region as the heart of the country, the newspaper recalls.
His supporters still see him as a "flexible politician" with the potential to tackle the big issues facing German society: economic growth, defense and immigration. But others say he has difficulty planning more than one step ahead, which has led him to break his promises and leaves him vulnerable to surprise setbacks such as the first vote on his candidacy.
"Politico" notes that at the heart of yesterday's events is one question - how did Merz end up in such a mess when the vote was supposed to be just a parliamentary formality? Was this a mistake by one or two MPs who thought they could show their protest? Or is this a deeper sign of a leader prone to political mistakes?
During his brief stint in the international spotlight, Merz has so far come across as impulsive and erratic. He took a risk by relying on AfD votes to push anti-immigration measures through the Bundestag before taking office as chancellor, believing it would boost support for his CDU party. Instead, the Christian Democrats saw their public support decline, while the AfD continued its rise.
In surprisingly candid statements after the polls closed on election night, Merz lashed out at Trump and questioned the viability of NATO.
Critics also point to former leader Angela Merkel’s decision to bar him from holding influential positions as evidence that she knew he was not good enough for high office. If they are right, the only thing worse for Europe than a weak Chancellor Merz would be a powerful Merz, notes "Politico".
Meanwhile, the new German chancellor warned the US to "stay away" from his country's politics after the far-right AfD received strong support from US President Donald Trump, writes the "Guardian".
The conservative CDU/CSU alliance won the February election by a significant margin over the AfD, which came in second with over 20% of the vote, a record for the party. During the election campaign, the AfD received strong support from both Trump and its ally – billionaire Elon Musk and Vice President J.D. Vance, the publication recalls.
Now Merz condemned the recent "absurd remarks" by the US, without specifying specific statements, and said that "he would like to encourage the US government (...) not to interfere in German domestic politics".
As a politician with long-standing ties to the US, he said that he had always believed that America "can clearly distinguish extremist parties from parties of the political center".
Last week, after Germany's domestic intelligence service declared the AfD an "extremist organization", US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the move "disguised tyranny" and stated that "Germany must change course", notes "The Guardian".