This had to be an unwelcome surprise for the Master of the Old Magoo.

Friedrich Merz has spent his whole life massaging the various super-sized egos along the path of his political career, fawning at the feet of such Christian Democrat (CDU) luminaries as Angela Merkel, to reach the pinnacle of German political power - the chancellorship.

Here he was, the victor in this past February's elections. By dint of reneging on every single campaign promise made to tentative Germans who had trusted their votes to him and his party (thanks to lingering guilt over agreeing with the populist Alternativ for Germany (AfD)) and his skillful machinations during a month left with outgoing Bundestag members, had now cobbled himself together a coalition to rule with.

There was only one step left to tie his triumph into a bow - have the newly installed Bundestag members vote to elect him chancellor officially.

That was supposed to happen this morning, and there was a glitch.

A shocking glitch.

BREAKING 🇩🇪 : Friedrich Merz has failed to achieve a majority in the first round of the election to become Germany's next chancellor.

He fell short of the required number of votes with 310 out of the required 316. pic.twitter.com/42BhdDoTdi

— Zaid Ahmd  (@realzaidzayn) May 6, 2025

No one was more surprised than the Old Magoo himself.

Betrayed, just as he has betrayed his own voters.#Merz pic.twitter.com/NqyQsRZmfZ

— Rob Roos 🇳🇱 (@Rob_Roos) May 6, 2025

Merz was so close to joining that short line of long-serving despots and now going to have to sit through a humiliating wait for a second round of voting.

Good Morning from Germany, where Friedrich Merz has fallen short of a majority in the first round of the chancellor vote—something that has never happened before in German history. He received 310 votes, 6 short of the 316 needed for a majority in parliament. pic.twitter.com/1kBSaWuQZ6

— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) May 6, 2025

AfD leader Alice Weidel said, 'That's what happens when you're a liar, liar, pants on fire.'

🚨🇩🇪 BREAKING: FRIEDRICH MERZ LOSES CHANCELLOR ELECTION‼️

For the first time in history, the designated chancellor loses the parliamentary election.

This is the consequence of his unprecedented voter BETRAYAL.@Alice_Weidel: “Today we saw that liars won’t get far.” pic.twitter.com/xrCGGnYi3f

— Naomi Seibt (@SeibtNaomi) May 6, 2025

All the votes were secret ballots, so there was no way of knowing who the six souls were who shivved the heir to Merkel and presumptive successor to Olaf Scholz in the back.

So #Sadz

...Journalist Hans-Ulrich Jörges surmised on Welt TV: “Merz is deeply shocked and sitting in a chair somewhere.”

CDU officials scrambled to get another round of voting set up.

...It was the first time since World War II that an incoming chancellor failed to secure enough support from lawmakers on the first attempt, preventing Merz from taking over from outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz as planned and pitching Europe’s biggest economy into uncharted territory.

“It’s no question that we are in an unusual situation today but we’re following an ordered democratic process,” Jens Spahn, the head of the CDU/CSU caucus, told reporters.

In the meantime, other party leaders warned that Weidel's gloating was a threat to democracy, and that voting for the liar would be the only way to save democracy in an unstable world.

Like we haven't heard that speech before.

"A blow to our country and to democracy."
Top conservative leader Markus Söder warns Merz's chancellor vote failure could pose a risk to Germany's democratic stability, but says "everything can still be solved." pic.twitter.com/0OKyMUqvkY

— DW Politics (@dw_politics) May 6, 2025

Weidel made the most of her moment, pounding away at the momentarily vulnerable and utterly humiliated Merz.

"Mr. Merz should resign immediately," said AfD co-leader Alice Weidel after Friedrich Merz's historic loss in the first round of voting for chancellor.

Merz's loss has been a global shock, marking the first time a chancellor candidate ever lost in German history. pic.twitter.com/ftDH9O1Rfn

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) May 6, 2025

Eventually, the CDU felt as if they could safely go ahead, and they scheduled a Hail Mary round of voting.

Merz squeaked through...

🇩🇪 BREAKING: Merz elected chancellor of Germany

✅325 voted yes
🔻289 voted no

Merz is now chancellor after winning the second round of voting. pic.twitter.com/M9Gbp21pRK

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) May 6, 2025

...but the damage is already done to his 'new' government. Sharks and naysayers are smelling blood in the water after the unprecedented snub of the first ballot.

...But the first-round flop in parliament raised questions about how solid Merz's majority would be and whether it can pass reforms to raise growth after two years of shrinking output. The outgoing government predicted zero growth for this year.

“The failed vote, and fact that it came out of the blue, have already weakened Merz significantly," said Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist at Capital Economics.

“His promise to run a much more efficient and conflict-free government ... looks much less credible now. And delivering on his economic proposals, including a big increase in defense and infrastructure spending, corporate tax cuts, bureaucracy cuts and digitalization, will be more difficult than expected,” Palmas added.

...Merz won election with 325 votes on the second try, but significant damage has been done. He is taking office “with two black eyes and shaky knees,” said Andrea Roemmele, professor of communications in politics and civil society at Berlin's Hertie School.

Hope that the government will quickly push ahead with new investments and reforms “has been shattered,” said Carsten Brzeski, global chief of macro at ING bank: “Today’s events show that not everyone seems to have understood the sense of urgency and the need to have a functioning government.”

"Functioning government' sounds like a pipedream when you realize what they have already turned their backs on dealing with, both at the German national level and European Union-wide. Take just the immigration front - it's eating economies alive, and that's without the crime and other aspects that go into the overall picture being considered.

A report about the net fiscal effects of non-Western immigration to European countries, created by the Publications Office of the EU.

This estimate shows that non-EU immigration is negative in almost all countries, and this is true even with an implausible assumption of "perfect… pic.twitter.com/GPKLO9veKw

— Jonatan Pallesen (@jonatanpallesen) May 2, 2025

It's staggering what they've done to themselves and are determined to continue to do.

Meanwhile, how Merz actually pulled off his evening miracle is now causing comment and wondering what further betrayals are to come next.

🚨🇩🇪 MERZ WON WITH THE SOCIALISTS’ VOTES‼️ 🤯

18 members of Merz’ own government parties denied him the vote.

Eventually, Merz persuaded SOCIALIST MPs from The Left party to suck up to him to prevent the AfD.

This was revealed by CDU Jens Spahn.
Did he leak a secret? pic.twitter.com/eLrwWRc82B

— Naomi Seibt (@SeibtNaomi) May 6, 2025

Another Merz promise NOT to work with the Leftist, radical Communists broken in order to grasp that chancellor brass ring.

Merz failed, then becoma chancellor at the second vote.
ONLY with the help of the radical commmunists.
He is a lame duck.
This is a good day for the AfD, for the opposition and for remigration. pic.twitter.com/2k4KF0TPep

— Martin Sellner (@Martin_Sellner) May 6, 2025

Alice Weidel had best keep her head on a swivel. They will be coming for her and her party, because Merz 'cannot trust his party and his coalition' anymore.

Since WWII, Germany's liberal democracy has held. Now, it's on the brink. The government censors, spies on, and persecutes critics. And, today, it laid the groundwork to ban the nation's most popular political party, the AfD. My exclusive interview with one of its leaders. pic.twitter.com/K6zxu4j2YQ

— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) May 2, 2025

Merz has backed himself into a corner with IOUs to all the wrong people, and not a one of them is in the interest of Germany.