Germany’s Merz fails to be elected chancellor in shock first-round parliamentary vote

Friedrich Merz, designated Federal Chancellor (CDU), is pictured during the signing of the coalition agreement between the SPD, CDU, and CSU on May 05, 2025 in Berlin, Germany.

Florian Gaertner | Photothek | Getty Images

Friedrich Merz failed to get the majority needed to become German chancellor in a parliamentary vote Tuesday.

Merz needed at least 316 votes to become chancellor and only 310 members of parliament voted in his favor.

The German Dax stock market index extended losses after the result to trade around 1% lower by 9:30 a.m. London time.

The result marks an unanticipated setback for Merz who was widely expected to secure the necessary votes and be officially sworn in later in the day.

After the result of the vote was announced the parliamentary session was halted to allow for factions to discuss among themselves. A second vote is expected at some point.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated shortly.

Source

World

Expect tariff ‘cascade’ effect across slowing global economy, top UN official warns

July 16, 2025

The leading arm of the United Nations’ organization focused on trade and development, UNCTAD, said President Trump’s tariff policies are already creating new costs and disruptions in the global supply chain, and for less developed nations that trade with the U.S., the worst economic fallout hasn’t hit yet. “We already see a disruption in the […]

World

Ether is starting to outperform bitcoin – and further gains could be ahead for the crypto, charts show

July 16, 2025

Ether continues to demonstrate notable strength, both on an absolute basis and relative to bitcoin , which suggests that its recent up-move could kickstart further gains. First, on this daily chart, it’s clear that ETH finally has broken out of a bullish inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, a technical formation that has been under construction for most […]

World

Scale AI cuts 14% of workforce after Meta investment, hiring of founder Wang

July 16, 2025

Facade with logo at headquarters of Scale AI, San Francisco, California, June 2, 2025. Smith Collection | Gado | Archive Photos | Getty Images Weeks after Meta poured $14.3 billion into Scale AI and hired founder Alexandr Wang, the artificial intelligence startup is cutting 200 full-time employees, or 14% of its staff. Scale AI’s interim […]