Crisis of Confidence, Finger-Pointing Shake German Politics

Tensions are running high in the Bundestag as speculation and rumors swirl about which CDU/CSU and SPD lawmakers sabotaged Friedrich Merz’s bid to become chancellor in the first round of voting.

English POLITIKA 2025. MÁJUS 7. 18:27

Votes were cast by secret ballot, making it highly unlikely that we will ever know exactly which members of Merz’s own camp broke ranks. According to Bild, the parliamentary group had made it clear the night before: there would be only one round of voting.

The message to any potential dissenters was unmistakable: “Consider carefully what your vote will trigger,”

the Bild highlighted in its report.

But things didn’t go as planned. The chancellor election kicked off with a scandalous start as Merz failed to secure enough votes in the first round. Some blamed the SPD for the embarrassment, while within the SPD, many pointed to internal left-wing factions as the cause. Several of their members had recently attracted attention with particularly critical social media posts about Merz. Officially, CDU, CSU, and SPD representatives repeatedly denied that there were dissenters in their ranks—but the fact remains: 18 lawmakers voted against Merz in the first round.

A Mysterious and Telling Social Media Post

Just before the chancellor vote, CDU MP Andreas Mattfeldt from Lower Saxony raised eyebrows with a provocative LinkedIn post. He voiced dissatisfaction, claiming:

“The CDU-CSU leadership is allowing itself to be humiliated by a still-serving SPD minister aligned with an AfD expert’s opinion.”

He continued:

“I don’t play such political games. I’m not vindictive—but I don’t forget.”

This sparked speculation: could Mattfeldt have been among those who voted against Friedrich Merz? When asked by BILD whether his comment was a message aimed at Merz, Mattfeldt jokingly replied:

“No, no, no, no—I voted for Friedrich Merz.”

Merz Becomes Chancellor, but Coalition Already Shakey

Despite the rocky start, Friedrich Merz ultimately became Germany’s new chancellor with 325 votes, just narrowly surpassing the 316-vote threshold required. While a formal victory, the close margin leaves little room to govern confidently. Merz’s failure in the first round was unprecedented in post-WWII German politics. A second vote became possible only after four parliamentary groups—including the Greens and The Left—agreed to prevent a prolonged political crisis. His conservative bloc succeeded in the second round, but the historic setback in the first vote casts a long shadow over his new administration.

English POLITIKA

Címkék:

europe, friedrich merz, germany, merz