Merz fails to be elected chancellor by German parliament

BERLIN, May 6 (Reuters) - German conservative leader Friedrich Merz failed to garner the parliamentary majority needed to become chancellor on Tuesday in an unexpected setback for his new coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats.

The lower house of parliament, or Bundestag, now has 14 days to elect Merz or another candidate chancellor with an outright majority.

Merz's conservative CDU-CSU bloc won national elections in February but with 28.5% of the vote, it needs at least one partner.

Merz agreed to form a coalition with the Social Democrats, who won just 16.4%, their worst result in German post-war history.