Conservative leader Friedrich Merz was elected another German Chancellor after the dramatic second round of voting in the Bundestag on Tuesday. The victory comes just hours after he suffered a surprising defeat in the initial vote.
In the second vote, Friedrich Merz secured 325 votes and conveniently exceeded the desired threshold of 316 votes in a 630 -member parliament. The result is a significant turn after it did not reach in the first round and gained only 310 votes – despite its coalition controlling 328 seats.
Narrow girls in the first round
The first result of the vote shocked many in Berlin because it was expected that Merz was easy to win. Shortly six votes disrupted questions about disagreement in their own ranks or strategic delays.
The second sound ensures victory
At the time of the second voting, Merz gathered sufficient support to gain the Chancellor and become the 10th post -war Chancellor of Germany. Successful vote restores confidence in the coalition conducted conservatively and after the federal elections, weeks of political uncertainty end.
Merz will replace Olaf Scholz from the Central-Led Social Democratic Party (SPD). The new government alliance includes the CDU, its Bavarian sister party The Christian Social Union (CSU) and SPD – form a central block that runs the largest European economy.
Far -right profits
The vote is a follow -up to the politically accused national elections in February, where the extreme right -wing alternative for Germany (AfD) has risen to second place and became the largest opposition party in parliament. Despite its profits, the AfD was excluded from coalition negotiations due to long -term “firewall” maintained by ordinary German parties against far -right cooperation.
This Firewall gateway came under a new control in the middle of the growing international support of extreme right -wing forces. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, a loud ally Trump, supported AfD and recently hosted the co-owner of Alice Weidel at a live chat at X. Meanwhile, American vice president JD Vance, who attended the Munich Security Conference in February in February, publicly criticized Firerewall and met Weidel-Krok.
High Bets and Global Context
The German political transition comes at a time of growing geopolitical tension. The country remains the second largest military donor in Ukraine after the US and is now the fourth largest defense in the world, which only follows the US, China and Russia.
Merz inherits a complex political agenda. His coalition committed to strengthening economic growth, tightening the rules of migration and modernizing outdated infrastructure-all in navigation in foreign policy calls, such as the ongoing war in Ukraine, and restored uncertainty about business relations in the US-EU, especially with the return of Trump’s administration.
If Merz could not secure a majority in Tuesday’s second vote, the Bundestag would have entered two weeks to choose a new Chancellor through repeated ballots. If the German President failed, he could either appoint a candidate with the most votes or a dissolved parliament for new elections – the scenario has now avoided Merz’s delayed but decisive victory.
(Tagstotranslate) Friedrich Merz
