Chancellor Bid Setback for Germany's Christian Democrat Leader Friedrich Merz

Friedrich Merz, poised to lead Germany’s Christian Democrats for the past ten weeks, encountered his first hurdle on his journey to becoming chancellor during a parliamentary vote on Tuesday morning. Despite this temporary setback, the prospects for Mr. Merz remain strong. His party, along with its sister party, the Christian Social Union, and their coalition partner, the center-left Social Democrats, still possess enough votes to elect a chancellor and establish a government. Now, Mr. Merz must focus on convincing the six dissenters within his coalition to rally behind him in the next round of voting.