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Germany’s Merz misses majority in 1st parliament vote on chancellor
German conservative leader Friedrich Merz failed to win election as chancellor in a first round of voting by lawmakers Tuesday, in an unexpected setback.
There will now be two further rounds of voting, and in the third and final round a simple majority of lawmakers will suffice to see him elected.
The vote had been widely seen as a formality, with Merz backed by a coalition of his CDU/CSU alliance and the centre-left Social Democrats, who together have 328 seats.
Three lawmakers abstained, with one invalid ballot, while nine MPs were absent.
