For many, the chancellor candidacy of CDU politician Friedrich Merz is a done deal. However, for some Bundestag members of the potential coalition partner SPD, it is not.
Even if the negotiations over a possible government in the coming weeks go smoothly without any obstacles, a black-red coalition between the Union and the SPD would only have a narrow majority of 12 votes in the Bundestag. And from this dozen, SPD members Jan Dieren, Annika Klose, Angelika Glöckner and Rasha Nasr, as reported by FAZ, already say they will not vote for Merz, as they consider him too reactionary, too conservative. Four more members, Bettina Hagedorn, Sebastian Roloff, Daniel Rump and Ralf Stegner, express fundamental reservations about a Chancellor Merz. SPD member Roloff even reports on possible additional dissenters:
“I know of more than three hands full – which would already make the majority waver – who are having a hard time with a black-red coalition” he said.
He also emphasized, “I don’t have to give my vote to Friedrich Merz if he is to be elected Chancellor. I am only bound by my conscience.” Annika Klose said, “How can I lift my hand for Friedrich Merz? The political trenches are very deep. That is no longer the Merkel-CDU. Merz and Linnemann are very far to the right, very conservative, very neoliberal.”
Further Social Democrats point out that during the election of Lars Klingbeil as the SPD faction leader, there were 13 no-votes, three abstentions and two members who cast invalid ballots. This is interpreted in the faction as 18 members not following the new leader, which further reduces the faction’s discipline for the upcoming Chancellor election. The one-time Bundestag vote with the AfD is particularly criticized by the SPD against Merz. Political observers, however, are clear: The comrades who achieved their worst election result since the times of Otto von Bismarck in 2025 are playing high stakes to realize their political agenda in a new “Grand Coalition.” They know that Merz, due to his self-imposed “Brandmauer politics” has no alternative to them.