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Friedrich Merz has failed to win a vote in the Bundestag to become Germany’s chancellor, in a shock setback that torpedoes his plans for his first week in office.
The 69-year-old Christian Democrat, who won elections in February and has teamed up with the Social Democrats to form a majority government, needed 316 votes in the 630-member parliament. But he only secured 310, even though the coalition partners have 328 seats between them.
It was not immediately clear when the next round of voting would take place.
If a candidate fails to win sufficient backing from parliament over several rounds of voting, Germany’s Social Democratic President Frank-Walter Steinmeier can appoint another chancellor candidate or call new elections.
Merz’s unprecedented failure to be elected by the Bundestag strikes a severe blow to the CDU leader, who had hoped to take office on Tuesday and immediately set to work tackling the deep problems in Europe’s largest economy, which has suffered years of stagnation.
Merz had planned to travel to Paris on Wednesday to meet president Emmanuel Macron in what was intended to be a demonstration of his commitment to the Franco-German partnership.
European stocks weakened after the news, touching session lows, with Germany’s Dax index down 1 per cent, and the broader Stoxx 600 index down 0.5 per cent.
This is a developing story
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