Friedrich Merz Elected Germany’s 10th Chancellor in Second Round After Initial Defeat
After an unexpected defeat in the first round, conservative leader Friedrich Merz has been elected as Germany's 10th Chancellor in the second round of voting. In Tuesday’s secret parliamentary ballot, Merz received 325 votes—exceeding the required majority of 316.
Friedrich Merz Elected Germany’s 10th Chancellor in Second Round After Initial Defeat
Friedrich Merz Elected Germany’s 10th Chancellor in Second Round After Initial Defeat
After an unexpected defeat in the first round, conservative leader Friedrich Merz has been elected as Germany's 10th Chancellor in the second round of voting. In Tuesday’s secret parliamentary ballot, Merz received 325 votes—exceeding the required majority of 316.
In the first round, Merz secured only 310 votes, significantly fewer than the 328 seats held by his new coalition in parliament. That result came as an unexpected setback for the alliance.
Merz’s conservative CDU and its sister party CSU had won the highest vote share—28.5%—in February’s national election but still required a coalition partner to form a government.
On Monday, the CDU/CSU reached a coalition agreement with the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), which had received 16.4% of the vote in the election that followed the collapse of former Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government.
The new coalition government has announced plans to revive economic growth through measures such as corporate tax cuts and reductions in energy prices. It has also pledged strong support for Ukraine in resisting Russian aggression and promised to increase Germany’s military budget.
More details to follow.
