Shockwaves in German politics as Christian Democrat Friedrich Merz failed to get the necessary majority in the Bundestag to become the next German chancellor, an epic fail and first in German history. The centrist Christian Democrats must now decide if they want to risk another humiltiating defeat or form a new coalition, either with the patriotic AfD party, or a far-left coalition with the voted-out Greens and Social Democrats.
The secret vote at 8 a.m. Tuesday morning was supposed to be a shoo-in, since former Blackrock manager Friedrich Merz’s proposed coalition out of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats held 328 seats out of 630 in the Bundestag parliament. 316 would have been needed to elect Merz Chancellor, who then nominates the rest of the government.
Then came the shocker: At 9:05, Bundestag chair Julia Klöckner (CDU) announced Merz had only gotten 310 votes. 307 voted against, three abstained and one vote was invalid.
“This is a major crisis for the German government”, said Welt-TV anchor Carsten Hädler.
Merz made enemies on the left and right by passing an immgration bill with the votes of the AfD January 29, and disappoint conservative voters by breaking all his election promises to change the German constitution to suspect the spending limit, passing a Biden-style €1 Trillion pork-barrel boondoggle for defense, “infrastructue” and “climate change”.
While many conservatives were hoping for a conservative reset of the Christian Democrats after the leftward swerve of the Merkel administration, Merz has been acting like a typical, establishment RINO since November 5, ruling out talks with the right-wing AfD, tying him into a leftist coalition, and sabotaging President Donald Trump’s peace efforts by vowing to continue financing the war in Ukraine on trillions in deficits.
The political earthquake came just 4 days after the parting German interior minister, far-left “Antifa” supporter Nancy Faeser (Social Democrats) released a secret police report labeling the biggest German opposition party, the patriotic “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) “confirmed far-right”, a major step on the way to banning the most popular party in current polls.
After the debacle, humiliated German chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz disappeared, leaving the Bundestag in Chaos. House rules require a chancellor vote be announced 48 hours ahead of time, so the Bundestag would officially not be able to vote until Thursday.
Parliamentarians are now maneuvering to change the rules to be able to vote sooner. A 2/3rds majority is required to change the rules, meaning the proposed Merz coalition would need the support of Greens, Left or AfD. The Bundestag will meet again at 3 pm Central European (9 a.m. Eastern) to try and change the Bundestag rules.
Observers now see five main paths ahead:
1.) The proposed Merz coaltion tries to get the majority in another vote, risking another humiliation;
2.) The Christian Democrats and Social Democrats try to bribe other leftist parties, such as the Greens, into supporting them. Coalition involving the Social Democrats and Greens would basically be a rehash of the failed Scholz administartion, which collapsed one day after the election of President Donald J. Trump;
3.) The Christian Democrats abandon Merz’s cordon sanitaire (“firewall”) and form a coalition with the AfD, which CDU causcus leader and Ric Grenell ally Jens Spahn is rumored to have floated;
4.) If the second vote fails to produce a chancellor, Bundestag rules allow for a third vote where the absolute majority is not required any more, only the relative majority; starting without at least 50% in the Bundestag would be a bleak omen for a new government, however;
5.) Germany holds new elections in 2 months, in which case the AfD would probably score 25% or higher – meaning all establishment parties will seek to avoid this path at all costs.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Friedrich Merz’s inner-party nemesis, attended the vote today in the audience, leading some wags to suggest she may have had a hand in Merz’s humiliation.
Ironically, despite the so-called cordon sanitaire, the results indicate that the Greens and Left party, and some Social Democrats and/or Christian Democrats, must have voted with the AfD party to defeat Merz.
“Friedrich Merz is the first candidate for chancellor in the Federal Republic of Germany to fail in the first round of voting. This demonstrates the weak foundation on which the small coalition between the CDU/CSU and the SPD, which was voted out by the voters, is built”, AfD Chair Alice Weidel posted on X.
“Als AfD sind wir angetreten, dieses Land vom Kopf auf die Füße zu stellen. Wir sind bereit für die Regierungsverantwortung. Und fordern dazu auf, Vernunft walten zu lassen. Herr #Merz sollte sofort abtreten. Es sollte der Weg geöffnet werden für Neuwahlen in unserem Land!” pic.twitter.com/gzZochF5p5
— Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) May 6, 2025
“As the AfD, we have set out to set this country rightside up. We are ready to assume government responsibility. And we call for common sense to prevail. Mr. Merz should resign immediately. The way must be paved for new elections in Germany!”
Germany has now been effectively leaderless since the election of Donald Trump Nov. 5, 2025.
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