UPDATED 10:24 AM EDT -- Friedrich Merz has failed to achieve a majority in first round to become Germany's next chancellor

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.

If Merz fails again in the second vote, Germany could face a political deadlock.

The President may then appoint him with a simple Majority, or dissolve the Bundestag (again) and call new elections (again).

If new elections are triggered in Germany, the AfD would likely win an outright majority; which is why just this week, they declared AfD "extremist" and gave state security apparatus the legal authority to surveil and investigate them as a "threat to democracy."

UPDATE 10:24 AM EDT --

Friedrich Merz wins on second ballot to become Germany’s chancellor, hours after his historic defeat in the first round.

This is now a CRUCIAL moment for Germany and for the world.  Merz has repeatedly and publicly stated he will supply German "Taurus" Missiles to Ukraine, for use against Russia.

The "Taurus" missile can use GPS for targeting, but ALSO has internal, high-resolution mapping for guidance to targets.  I am told the internal mapping is accurate to within centimeters!

Russia has said publicly that if German missiles strike Russia, GERMANY will be held responsible regardless of who they say launched those missiles (i.e. Ukraine).

Over the past week, inside Russia and its allies, an old World War 2 song has suddenly become popular again.   It has serious lyrics about Russia "rising-up to face the Germans" -  and the fact that it is now becoming publicly popular again, has serious implications.  Here it is with English sub-titles:

It appears, with Merz having become Chancellor of Germany, World War 3 may be just around the corner.