After CDU leader Friedrich Merz surprisingly failed to get enough votes in the Bundestag to become German prime minister on Monday, two weeks of new, potentially humiliating rounds of elections may lie ahead.

The loss in the first round is already a major prestige defeat for Merz, and it’s the first time such a thing has happened after a coalition has negotiated a majority.

In principle, the parties could have agreed to hold a second round of voting today or tomorrow, but no such agreement has been reached – and according to normal procedures, the next opportunity will be on Friday.

The constitution sets a deadline of 14 days, according to Die Welt.

«If the candidate is not elected, the Bundestag can elect a chancellor with more than half of its members within 14 days of the vote.»

If this fails, the requirements are lowered in the next phase.

Now, a simple majority is sufficient. The constitution says: “If an election is not held within this time limit, a new round of elections shall be held immediately, and the person who receives the most votes shall be elected.”

But if there is only a simple majority, Germany’s president can call a new election.

Such an option would be a long shot for the president, given that the AfD has risen sharply in the polls since the election.

But Merz’s coalition is not robust. The CDU/CSU and SPD have a combined 328 seats in parliament, yet the prime minister-in-waiting fails to get the required number of votes from his own coalition.