In an extraordinary day of political turbulence in Berlin, Friedrich Merz, the long-time leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has finally secured election as German Chancellor after a tense second vote in the Bundestag on May 1. His road to victory was anything but smooth, marking an unprecedented stumble in Germany’s post-war democratic history.

Earlier in the day, Merz had unexpectedly failed to meet the required 316-vote threshold by a margin of six votes, throwing the country’s political establishment into disarray. In a rapid series of backdoor negotiations, emergency meetings, and last-minute appeals to party loyalty, Merz and his allies managed to turn the tide just hours later. In the second round of voting, he garnered 325 votes, successfully clinching the chancellorship.

The initial failure stunned Germany and much of Europe. No chancellor-designate since the formation of the Federal Republic in 1949 had ever failed to pass a Bundestag confirmation vote after securing a coalition agreement. The CDU’s agreement with the Social Democrats (SPD) was supposed to guarantee a clear majority. However, internal dissent and fragile alliances exposed deep-seated tensions within the new coalition and among Germany’s wider political class.

“This is a historic defeat, the likes of which have never been seen in this Bundestag before,” remarked Bernd Baumann, parliamentary leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, in a scathing floor speech after the first vote. Green Party veteran Renate Künast called the result a “massive loss of authority” for Merz, while Christian Görke........

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