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Conservative leader Friedrich Merz's bid to become Germany's 10th chancellor since World War II has failed in the first round of voting in parliament on Tuesday by six votes, despite him being expected to win easily.
Mr Merz needed a majority of 316 out of 630 votes in a secret ballot. He only received 310 votes, forcing the coalition of parties to reconvene to discuss the next step.
The lower house of parliament — called the Bundestag — has 14 days to elect a candidate with an absolute majority.
If that also fails, the constitution allows for the president to appoint the candidate who wins the most votes as chancellor, or to dissolve the Bundestag and hold a new national election.
Mr Merz is seeking to take the helm of the 27-nation European Union' s most populous member after outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government collapsed last year.
Germany has the continent's biggest economy and serves as a diplomatic heavyweight.
Mr Merz's portfolio would include the war in Ukraine and the Trump administration's trade policy on top of domestic issues such as the stagnant economy and the rise of a far-right, anti-immigrant party.
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