The main index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange DAX, representing 40 leading German companies, lost 1.1% after Friedrich Merz failed to pass the first round of voting in the Bundestag for the post of German Chancellor. According to the trading platform, the DAX recorded a mark of 23,084 points. At the same time, the EuroStoxx 50 index decreased by 0.7%. Friedrich Merz's failure at the first stage of voting was due to insufficient support from Bundestag deputies – 310 deputies out of 621 voted for him, while 316 votes were required to win. 307 deputies opposed Merz's candidacy, three abstained, and one ballot was declared invalid. The coalition consisting of the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Christian Democratic Union bloc, from which Merz is nominated, has 328 seats in the Bundestag, which makes the failure of the vote an unprecedented case in the history of Germany after successful coalition negotiations.
