BERLIN

The German parliament will hold a second round of chancellor vote Tuesday afternoon after conservative leader Friedrich Merz failed to secure the required majority in the first round.

Jens Spahn, parliamentary group leader of the conservative CDU/CSU alliance, told reporters that the democratic parties in parliament have agreed to hold the second round today during their consultations on parliamentary procedures.

“Today, in agreement with the CDU/CSU, Social Democratic Party (SPD), Greens, and Left Party parliamentary groups, we will be able to hold a second round of voting,” Spahn told reporters.

“Our parliamentary group stands united behind Friedrich Merz. The CDU/CSU and SPD coalition will propose Friedrich Merz as their chancellor candidate for this second round of voting. I appeal to everyone to be aware of their special responsibility,” he stressed.

Earlier on Tuesday, CDU/CSU leader Friedrich Merz failed to secure the required majority in the first round of voting—an unexpected development that raised concerns about the stability of the proposed coalition government.

In the secret ballot, 310 members of parliament voted for Merz, while 307 voted against him. He needed an absolute majority of at least 316 votes to be elected chancellor. The surprise setback for Merz came despite his Christian Democrat alliance and its junior coalition partner, the SPD, holding a comfortable majority of 328 seats in the Bundestag.

During the vote, three lawmakers abstained and one vote was invalid. Nine parliamentarians were absent due to illness or other reasons. Due to the secret ballot, it remained unclear how many lawmakers from the coalition parties voted against Merz's chancellorship and what their party affiliations were.