Germany: Merz elected chancellor on second attempt

Friedrich Merz elected German government chancellor in second round of voting. The CDU leader received 325 votes and can therefore get the job.

A white smoke that came after the (sensational and unprecedented) failure to obtain a majority during the first vote , at the end of which Merz stopped at 310 votes , six below the threshold, with 18 snipers among the members of the CDU-CSA and SPD coalition.

The session was then suspended and adjourned. In the afternoon the second, decisive vote.

The incident triggered a reaction from the opposition, with AfD leader Alice Weidel, who, after the flop in the first round of voting, had called for early elections , declaring that "Merz should step aside and clear the way".

(Online Union)