Chancellor election: How politicians react to Merz's historic defeat

But who is responsible for the disaster? An SPD spokesperson told the Berliner Zeitung: "We had everyone present." An initial assessment from the party headquarters, the Konrad Adenauer House, is circulating in CDU chat groups. At the CDU/CSU parliamentary group meeting, there was a "standing ovation" for Merz, it is said. The parliamentary group stands united behind its candidate for chancellor "and accepts its responsibility for our country." A second round of voting must now take place quickly. "The future coalition has a chancellor majority. Now everyone is called upon to live up to their responsibility for Germany. Solving the problems in our country tolerates no delay or maneuvering." The CDU is taking a broader view: "Europe and the world are looking to us. We need stability in our country now."

AfD leader Alice Weidel told the TV station Phoenix: "Mr. Merz should resign immediately. The way should be paved for new elections." Other AfD politicians appear decidedly unfazed by the CDU leader's historic defeat: "I'm not particularly surprised by Friedrich Merz's failure in the first round of voting," MP Götz Frömming told the Berliner Zeitung. "There are a number of SPD MPs who are uncomfortable with Merz's CDU. If things are starting out like this, I wonder how Merz intends to form a stable government. This wouldn't have happened with the AfD."

The Left Party reacted with malice to Merz's election defeat: "If he can't even gain the trust of his own people in the Berlin bubble, how can he possibly gain the trust of the people struggling with the real problems of everyday life?" said party chairman Jan van Aken . "He fails to unite, only divides. With him, another era of hopelessness threatens."

"The biggest election fraudster in the history of the Federal Republic wanted to become chancellor, but now he hasn't even managed that," BSW chairwoman Sahra Wagenknecht told the Berliner Zeitung. "Friedrich Merz simply can't do it and should draw the consequences. But it's also a crushing defeat for Lars Klingbeil." Wagenknecht said: "This black-red armament coalition is a dead end. It would be a good day for Germany if it stayed that way and Friedrich Merz didn't become chancellor."

Green Party Federal Chairman Felix Banaszak expressed dismay at the insecure majorities of the Chancellor-designate. "Friedrich Merz is not the Chancellor I wanted or would have voted for," Banaszak wrote on X, "but a government capable of taking action needs a majority." The Green Party politician continued, criticizing the lack of parliamentary discipline among the CDU/CSU and SPD.

Former Vice President of the Bundestag Wolfgang Kubicki (FDP) hopes for a timely decision by the Bundestag. "This wasn't even close and a bitter, if not devastating, blow to Friedrich Merz's chancellor ambitions," the former FDP politician writes on X. Kubicki hopes for a speedy resolution, "because an indefinite red-green minority government would be the worst of all options."

"The four Berlin representatives will all have voted yes," according to a statement from the Berlin SPD. At a meeting of the Berlin state executive committee on Monday evening, to which three of the four representatives belong, they expressed their approval, it was reported. The SPD 's nomination of ministers, in particular, was met with almost euphoric comments – even among those who had previously been harshly critical of the coalition partner , the CDU .

The fourth Berlin Social Democrat in parliament is Hakan Demir from Neukölln, an aggressive Merz opponent until the very end. When asked by the Berliner Zeitung what would happen next after the first failed round of voting, he replied: "I hope we start a second round soon."

The Berlin regional group, led by Annika Klose, states: "We will all vote in the second round of voting, including from the SPD." Ruppert Stüwe, a member of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf parliamentary group, writes: "I don't sense any mood in the parliamentary group to disobey the clear vote of the members."

The Berlin SPD instead points to a "legendary enmity" between Lars Klingbeil and the ousted but internally very powerful Hubertus Heil. Such frictions, however, naturally also exist within the CDU. The employee wing has already publicly expressed its dismay that, for the first time, there is no CDA (Christian Democratic Employees' Association of Germany) representative.

When contacted by the Berliner Zeitung, a former federal politician from the Berlin CDU expressed "no surprise" at Merz's failure. He suggested there were likely dissenters on both sides. It was equally likely that the party wanted to teach Merz a lesson in the first round of voting, only to elect him in the immediately following round. Most people probably had no idea that the postponement would now create great uncertainty.

The Brandenburg CDU expresses incomprehension about the events in the Bundestag. "Whoever wanted to vent their anger in a secret vote clearly doesn't understand the seriousness of the situation," Secretary General Gordon Hoffmann told the Berliner Zeitung. "The coalition agreement provides a very good basis for addressing the pressing problems facing our country. Now everyone should pull themselves together."