Historical debacle: Merz fails in the first ballot for chancellorship!

Historical debacle: Merz fails in the first ballot for chancellorship!

On May 6, 2025, Friedrich Merz failed in the first round of voting to elect the Federal Chancellor in the Bundestag. This event has no parallel in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany and represented an extraordinary turn of events. In the last 75 years, elections for chancellor after concluded coalition negotiations and signed coalition agreements were usually a formality. But Merz's failure could be due to a variety of factors, including dissatisfaction among parties, lack of positions and personal dislikes of the candidate [ku.de].

Historically there have only been a few close decisions, such as the elections of Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl, who were each elected with a majority of one vote. Merz now finds himself in an unprecedented situation in which he was unable to achieve the required majority in the first round of voting, which runs within the framework of the provisions of the Basic Law [tagesschau.de].

The Basic Law and the next steps

According to Article 63 of the Basic Law, the Bundestag has 14 days to elect a new Chancellor if the first round of voting fails. This means Merz will stand for election again, but under pressure to secure a majority in the Bundestag. The second phase of the chancellor election has already begun. Unlike before, the proposal for the re-election no longer has to come from the Federal President, but can come from the middle of the Bundestag.

Any number of ballots are possible during these 14 days. Nevertheless, the CDU has decided that no further attempt will take place on the same day. Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, however, is planning a new round of voting for the following day. The secret election also makes it more difficult for politicians to analyze the exact reasons for Merz's failure, which could be crucial in the run-up to the next election [ku.de].

Avoid national crisis

Given the current political situation, it was emphasized that a state crisis must be avoided at all costs. Merz will probably have to make concessions and appeal to the civic responsibility of his group and the SPD. The pressure is therefore great, because the success or failure in the next election round could have far-reaching consequences for political stability in Germany [tagesschau.de].