Germany’s Merz Suffers Surprise Setback

“Germany faced a political crisis on Tuesday after Friedrich Merz, the winner of the recent election, failed to secure enough support in parliament to be confirmed as the country’s next chancellor in a first round of voting,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The outcome of the vote has no precedent in postwar Germany and came despite Merz’s proposed coalition holding a relatively comfortable 12-seat majority in the house.”

Bloomberg: “Stunned lawmakers initially huddled in groups in the chamber, wondering what the next steps would be, while television commentators were also at a loss.”

Reuters: Germany’s Merz fails to be elected chancellor in shock first-round vote.