German conservative leader Friedrich Merz wins vote to become chancellor in second round

German conservative leader Friedrich Merz won the vote to become chancellor in the second round of voting.

The victory comes hours after Merz lost the initial vote, The Associated Press reported. He received 325 votes on the second ballot.

Merz lost the election to be Germany's 10th chancellor since World War II by six votes, which is the first time since the end of the war that a candidate for chancellor has failed to win on the first ballot, the AP reported. He received 310  out of 630 votes, but needed a majority of 316 to win. His coalition, one of the slimmest postwar majorities, holds 328 seats.

Merz's center-right Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, lead the coalition. The center-left Social Democrats, which is outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party, are also part of the coalition.