Merz failed to garner the parliamentary majority needed to become chancellor

German conservative leader Friedrich Merz failed to garner the parliamentary majority needed to become chancellor on Tuesday in an unexpected setback for his new coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats.
The lower house of parliament, or Bundestag, now has 14 days to elect Merz or another candidate chancellor with an outright majority.

Merz's conservative CDU-CSU bloc won national elections in February but with 28.5% of the vote, it needs at least one partner.