ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Well, it took two rounds of voting, but in the end, Germany's Parliament elected conservative politician Friedrich Merz as chancellor today. It's a rocky start for the former businessman as he tries to revive Germany's economy, rebuild its military and resurrect the country's global status. NPR's Rob Schmitz is covering this from Berlin. Hey, Rob.
ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE: Hey, Ari.
SHAPIRO: This was the first time in post-war Germany that it took two rounds of voting to elect a chancellor. Why does that matter?
SCHMITZ: Yeah, you know, I've covered Germany for years, and politics here are typically super boring and very stable - usually a sign of a healthy democracy. But today was anything but boring. When it came time to count the votes this morning, Merz and his colleagues who are part of his incoming coalition government were shocked to see that a handful of people in their own parties were voting against him. And like you mentioned, this has never happened in modern Germany, and that's why it's significant.
SHAPIRO: So why would politicians whose parties are entering into a governing coalition together vote against their candidate for chancellor?
SCHMITZ: Yeah, you know, first off, it's worth pointing out here that Merz's center-right conservatives and its coalition partner, the Social Democrats, hold a narrow majority in Parliament, just a dozen more seats than the minimum required. And it took just 18 members among them to throw everything into disarray today.
But it's also important to point out here that Friedrich Merz is not your typical German chancellor candidate. He's not known for compromising. He's more famous for his maverick approach to politics. And in the 2 1/2 months between February's election and today, he's made some big moves that have created political waves within his own party.
SHAPIRO: Like what? What's he done?
SCHMITZ: So he took advantage of the political makeup of the previous Parliament to pass a law that exempted Germany's strict spending rules in order to build up the country's military. Several members of Merz's own party were not on board with this. I spoke with the German Marshall Fund's Sudha David-Wilp about this, and here's what she said.
SUDHA DAVID-WILP: Germans are used to conservative policy when it comes to spending, and they're worried that perhaps he's in over his head.
SCHMITZ: And Ari, that's not the only move that Merz made before he became chancellor. Merz was accused of launching a failed attempt to work with the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, to pass a controversial migration motion that would have toughened up Germany's borders. And that angered many in Parliament because they thought he was breaking a long-standing German tradition of not working with the AfD, a party that the government now considers an extremist entity despite it being the second-largest vote-getter in the last election.
SHAPIRO: Well, tell us more about the role of AfD now. They're the main opposition party in Germany's Parliament. What impact are they likely to have on German politics?
SCHMITZ: Well, most importantly for Merz, the AfD will likely be an obstacle. One in five German voters voted for the AfD. It's been designated by domestic intelligence as extremists, paving the way for the party to be placed under state surveillance. And because the AfD is the main opposition party in Parliament now, this promises to sort of raise the temperature in the Bundestag as this new government tries to move forward with a big agenda.
SHAPIRO: So German politics may remain less boring than it used to be.
SCHMITZ: That's right.
SHAPIRO: NPR Berlin correspondent Rob Schmitz, thank you.
SCHMITZ: Thanks, Ari.
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