Germany’s Friedrich Merz falls short of majority in first vote for chancellor

Germany’s conservative leader Friedrich Merz suffered a serious blow Tuesday when he failed to win a parliamentary majority in the first round of voting to become the next chancellor.

Merz had expected to win a majority of at least 316 of the 630 votes in the lower house of parliament. But he won the backing of only 310 MPs, with 307 voting against him.

There will now be two further rounds of voting in the Bundestag, and in the third and final round a simple majority of lawmakers will suffice to see him elected.