"Black day!": German media — about the historical failure of Merz

The failure of the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Friedrich Merz in the first round of voting in the Bundestag to elect a new chancellor is a blow both for Merz and the leaders of parliamentary factions, and for the whole of Germany.

So, Bild's chief reporter Peter Tiede notes:

"It was supposed to be a great day for the black and red (CDU/CSU and SPD coalition). And it became a black day. Our country has not seen such a thing in the last 76 years: a candidate for chancellor fails already in the first round of voting! Deputies from his own coalition — the CDU/CSU and the SPD — are depriving their own candidate for the post of head of government of the necessary support. Friedrich Merz has been dealt a political blow."

According to the journalist, not only Merz suffered from an unprecedented failure, the outcome of the vote also causes serious damage to the leaders of the CDU/CSU and SPD faction — Jens Spahn and Matthias Mirsch, who could not rally their ranks around the candidate.

"But the country that suffers the most from this is Germany. This undermines the necessary trust of citizens in the will and ability of the CDU, CSU and SPD to fulfill their responsibility to the country. And do it selflessly. Who in the CDU/CSU or — most likely — in the SPD decided to settle personal scores? For whom was revenge more important than the country? Who put their feelings above the citizens of Germany?" — the journalist asks questions.

A small group of leading SPD politicians, including co-chair Zaskia Esken and ex-Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil, who did not get ministerial portfolios in the new cabinet, are under suspicion of Tiede. According to the correspondent, representatives of the left wing of the SPD or deputies of the CDU/CSU faction, who harbored a grudge against Merz because of the candidate's violation of the promise not to burden Germany with new multibillion-dollar debts, could also vote against Merz.

"SPD-nitro and CDU-glycerin are an explosive mixture. As a result, there are deputies in the ruling factions, on whom Merz — if he is still elected — will not be able to count at a critical moment. The distrust sown today will rule with him," Tiede summed up.