This is CBS, I on the World.

I'm John Batchel.

A surprise in Deutschland.

I welcome Judy Dempsey, the senior scholar for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace based in Berlin.

The news is in short form, Friedrich Merz fails an initial vote to become Germany's chancellor.

Shockwaves immediately.

When I saw the news this morning, I thought immediately of Judy's first remark when Friedrich Mertz's name came forward some time ago as a man who would be king.

Judy, my memory is, you said he's wanted it his whole life.

He believes that Merkel blocked him and he stepped away from politics, but now the

path is open.

He wants it and he'll get it.

And maybe so, however, he wanted it too much.

The subhead, markets hit after shock setback to prospective leader.

We need to do some mechanics here, Judy, because I understood that he had the votes to be named

Chancellor and the Bundestag.

We know the negative votes after the is negative and the smaller parties are negative.

But he has the CDU.

He has the subset of the CSU.

He has the SPD.

That's the socialist.

He has all those votes.

I add them all up and that's a lot of votes.

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