Friedrich Merz’s bid to become Germany’s 10th chancellor fails first ballot

Friedrich Merz reacts after he was not elected Germany’s new chancellor in the first voting process at the parliament Bundestag in Berlin (Markus Schreiber/AP)

Conservative leader Friedrich Merz’s bid to become Germany’s 10th chancellor since the Second World War failed in the first round of voting in parliament on Tuesday by six votes, a vote he had been widely expected to win smoothly.

Mr Merz needed a majority of 316 out of 630 votes in a secret ballot.