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AfD calls for new elections, Die Linke accuses Cdu leader: 'divisive'

The parliamentary stumble is resounding and denotes the fragility of the coalition, but also possible internal discontent within the party of the chancellor-designate. The Bundestag is expected to reconvene on Friday for a new ballot

6 May 2025

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Friedrich Merz failed to get the necessary votes to be elected German chancellor in the first ballot held in the Bundestag on the morning of 6 May. He collected only 310 votes, six fewer than the required absolute majority of 316 votes. The federal parliament currently has 630 members, and the coalition of conservatives and social democrats CDU/CSU-SPD, on paper, has 328 seats. However, some of the majority MPs did not support Merz in the secret ballot.

The reaction of the Cdu and Spd to the franchi tiratori vote

The 18 missing votes between the ranks of the government coalition aiming to lead Germany - supported by Merz's Cdu, which emerged victorious in last February's political elections, and Olaf Scholz's Spd (centre-left) - trigger questions in both parties. The Spd parliamentary group excludes responsibility for Merz's failure to become chancellor. 'We believe we are in full agreement. Nobody was missing,' Dpa reported, citing sources close to the current parliamentary group leader, Lars Klingbeil.

What went wrong today? 'I guess we will never know, but that's democracy,' is the warm comment of the general secretary of the Cdu, Carsten Linnemman, on the failure to elect Merz in the first ballot. 'My feeling is that the Union is very united. There was an immediate ovation for Friedrich Merz,' he said, referring to the atmosphere behind the scenes in the parliamentary group.

Right calls for new elections, left accuses Merz: 'Divisive'

Harsh comments from the opposition. The leader of Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD), Alice Weidel, called the coalition between the CDU and SPD 'built on rotten foundations' and 'lacking the real support of the citizens'. "The vote shows on what a weak foundation this small coalition rests, supported by an SPD that voters have clearly rejected," she wrote on X. Shortly afterwards, Weidel called for early elections.

The left wing of Die Linke also sees Merz's surprising failure in the chancellor election as a vote of no confidence in the leader of the Cdu. If Merz does not even gain the trust of his people, "how will he be able to win the trust of the people who struggle with the real problems of everyday life?", explained the leader of Die Linke,Jan van Aken, according to whom the chancellor candidate "fails to unite, only succeeds in dividing". Ines Schwerdtner, co-leader of the left-wing party, accused Merz of not distancing himself clearly enough from the ultra-right AfD: 'It was a mistake on Merz's part from the start to squander the trust of the democratic parties and to make a pact with the fascists. He has broken the cordon sanitaire and is now paying the bill'.

'We want a government that can act for Europe and Germany'. Thus Franziska Brantner, leader of the Greens, expressing disappointment at Merz's rejection. Brantner added regret that Merz and Spd leader Lars Klingbeil failed to get the numbers to elect Merz. 'Now they have to prove that they can do it, even for the next four years,' he added.

Event unprecedented in German history

As the German media point out, the non-election of the chancellor-designate is an unprecedented event in the history of the Federal Republic. "It is an absolute first: never before has a chancellor-designate been rejected by the Bundestag after a federal election and successful coalition negotiations," Die Welt wrote. The Bundestag is expected to reconvene on Friday for a new election attempt.

The parliamentary stumble is resounding and denotes the fragility of the coalition, but also possible internal discontent within the chancellor-designate's party: several commentators have pointed out already in recent days that there is a kind of party within the party, favourable to a rapprochement with the extreme right of the Adpi rather than a Grosse Koalition with the Spd, considered to be unpalatable to too many conservative voters.