German Parliament Backs Merz As Chancellor In Second Vote After "Shock" Failure In First Attempt
For Friedrich Merz, second time was the charm.
After the new German chancellor unleashed chaos in German politics when he failed to be voted through in secret ballot, getting only 310 of the 630 votes, failing to get the required 316 majority - an unprecedented outcome as it was only the first time since World War II that an incoming chancellor failed to secure the backing of lawmakers in the first round of voting in the Bundestag - moments ago following the day's second attempt to vote Merz through, he managed to squeeze through with 325 votes, managing to round up an addition 15 votes.
Commenting on the favorable result, Bloomberg says that we can rule out a coordinated attempt to derail his chancellorship, which leaves incompetence - an unfortunate mistake - as a possible reason for the earlier hiccup. The alternative is a shot across his bow, but for now by whom it remains a mystery.
Now that he has the votes, Friedrich Merz will now take the 5 minute drive along the banks of the River Spree to the presidential palace to be formally sworn in by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and then sworn in by the Bundestag speaker before the first meeting of his new cabinet. He’s planning his first trip abroad on Wednesday, to Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and on to Warsaw to meet Polish counterpart Donald Tusk.
But the bigger question is whether this was a blip and is soon forgotten as Merz and his coalition move on to tackle Germany’s economic and political challenges – or if it foreshadows issues of political discipline and the resultant failure to get results that could rapidly sink his chancellorship.
For those fully invested in the German success story, such as Deutsche Bank Research Economist Marion Mühlberger, the result was all that mattered: "If the new government now swiftly implements its 100-day program with the urgently needed relief measures for the German economy, the fact that it took two attempts to elect a chancellor will quickly fade into the background.”
Others were not so sure: as Manfred Güllner, head of the Forsa polling group, said earlier "even if Merz makes it in a second round, he is now damaged."
In any case, there was some relief in the stock market, with the DAX recouping most of its losses on the day, down just 0.4% now after dropping as much as 2.1% earlier. The MDAX is still down 0.7%. Now, it may take some time for investors to digest what really happened today and the potential consequences on the new government’s ability to increase spending and revive the economy.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/germanys-merz-falls-short-chancellor-vote-political-turmoil-unfolds-new-vote-imminent