Merz re-elected as CDU leader. Merkel missed the announcement
Kyiv • UNN
Friedrich Merz was re-elected as the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Stuttgart, receiving 91.17% of the votes. The vote took place on February 20, but due to technical glitches and a second round, the results were announced late.
German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz has been re-elected as party leader at the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party congress in Stuttgart, UNN reports with reference to DW.
Details
During the delegate vote on Friday, February 20, he secured the support of 91.17 percent of valid votes.
977 out of 1001 registered delegates participated in the vote. 878 delegates voted for Merz, 85 voted against. 14 delegates abstained, and their ballots were declared invalid according to the CDU's established procedure.
Thus, the level of support for the re-elected CDU leader among party members remains consistently high: at the previous congress in May 2024, he received about 90 percent of the votes.
The current elections, it is noted, were scheduled for 3:15 PM local time, but everything did not go according to plan. Initially, Friedrich Merz's speech began much later than planned and lasted over 70 minutes. Then, due to a malfunction of the electronic voting system, it had to be conducted on paper. Merz unexpectedly did not get enough votes in the first round and a second one had to be held, writes Die Welt.
As a result, Merz's re-election was announced at 6:40 PM - more than three hours late. Angela Merkel, former Chancellor and CDU member, did not wait for this and left the congress earlier - reportedly to catch the last train to Berlin that day. Before that, Merkel "friendly said goodbye to the Chancellor and his wife Charlotte," writes Die Welt, noting that it is not the first time the former head of government has missed the announcement of the results of important votes for Merz.
The last time at the CDU congress in May 2024, Merz also received about 90% of the votes. He first led the conservatives in 2022 during a party congress that was held online due to the coronavirus pandemic. On May 6, 2025, Friedrich Merz headed the government, becoming the 10th Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Addition
Merz first took over as CDU chairman in 2022 during a party congress that was held online due to the coronavirus pandemic. Since May 6, 2025, he has headed the German government. Friedrich Merz is the 10th Federal Chancellor.