AfD Tells Merz to Resign, Call New Election After He Loses Key Vote

Germany's conservative leader Friedrich Merz narrowly lost a vote in the Bundestag to become the next chancellor in an unexpected setback that plunges Europe's largest economy into political uncertainty.

Merz seemed on course to win with a majority of 13, but failed even to gain a simple majority of one, by six votes.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which finished second in the most recent election, demanded fresh elections after Merz's loss, the first time in German history that a chancellor-designate has failed to win in the first round of voting.

Why it Matters

Germany is a leading power within the 27-member European Union (EU) and a diplomatic powerhouse. Berlin is playing a central role in issues such as the European response to Russia's war on Ukraine and the EU's trade dispute with the U.S.

Merz is heading a fragile coalition of left and right parties put together to keep the AfD out of power. Germany's spy agency said AfD is a "proven right-wing extremist endeavor" and poses a threat to the democratic order, which the party denies.

What to Know

Merz needed a majority of 316 out of 630 votes in a secret ballot in Germany's lower house of parliament, but only received 310 votes. There will be a second vote in the afternoon of May 6, Merz's party confirmed.

The current German coalition government is led by Merz's center-right Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, and joined by the center-left Social Democrats. All three parties previously approved the coalition deal.

The coalition has a relatively modest majority, with 328 of the Bundestag's 630 seats, and aims to spur economic growth, ramp up defense spending, take a tougher approach to migration, and catch up on long-neglected modernization.

The Bundestag has 14 days to elect a candidate with an absolute majority. If that also fails, the constitution allows for the president to appoint the candidate who wins the most votes as chancellor, or to dissolve the Bundestag and hold a new national election.

Alice Weidel, co-leader of the AfD, called for Merz to resign immediately and for a new election in Germany.

"As the AfD, we have set out to turn this country upside down," Weidel said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "We are ready for the responsibility of government. And we call for common sense to prevail."

What People Are Saying

Political scientist, Karl-Rudolf Korte, told German public television, according to POLITICO Europe: "These are times of dwindling certainty, not only as far as important political decisions are concerned, but also with regard to majorities,"

Volker Resing, who wrote the recent biography Friedrich Merz: His Path to Power, expressed surprise at the turn of events, something he said that "has never happened before" in post-war Germany. It shows how fragile the coalition's situation is and that some lawmakers are prepared to spread uncertainty—that's a warning signal," Resing told The Associated Press after the vote.

Resing said that if Merz gets elected in the second round, then everything will be fine and people may soon forget about this hiccup. But "for now everything is wide open," he added.

What's Next

There will be a second round of voting on the same day, May 6, the CDU confirmed. It will take place at 15:15 CET (9:15 a.m. ET).

If Merz wins, he will be able to move on from the initial loss, which would be a temporary humiliation. But a second loss would almost certainly be fatal to his leadership.

This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.

Update, 5/6/25, 8:20 a.m. ET: Confirmation of a second vote from the CDU was added.