Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Germany, was narrowly elected as Germany's new Chancellor on the afternoon of the 6th after securing a majority in the re-vote for the approval of the new Prime Minister held in the German Bundestag. Merz took the oath of office after receiving his appointment from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Among the total of 630 members, 618 participated in the vote, and he received 325 votes, exceeding the majority requirement of 316 votes. A total of 289 members voted against him.
In the first vote held that morning, among the total of 630 members, 621 were present, and he received only 310 votes, which was 6 votes short of the majority, failing to become Chancellor.
Given the situation where Merz's CDU and the Christian Social Union (CSU) coalition party (with 208 seats) had secured 328 seats through a grand coalition with the center-left The Social Democratic Party of Korea (SPD, 120 seats), the results of the morning vote were considered an upset.
In response to the unexpected results, the coalition leadership held an emergency meeting to deliberate on countermeasures. This was the first time since World War II that a Chancellor candidate from a coalition that secured the majority failed in the first vote.
Following the emergency meeting, the CDU/CSU coalition and SPD decided to immediately conduct a re-vote that same day, excluding the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is the main opposition party, and collaborating with other parties such as the Green Party Korea.
Although Merz was ultimately elected as Chancellor, German media interpreted the rejection of the first vote as "a sign of discord within the left-right coalition."