Germany Loses UN Security Council Seat Bid as Austria and Portugal Win Votes

Germany failed to win a rotating seat on the UN Security Council in a Wednesday vote, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s bid losing to Austria and Portugal in the “Western Europe and Others” group.

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ABC News

The German foreign minister Johann Wadephul said the outcome was a “bitter defeat” and attributed it in part to Berlin’s “steadfast support for Israel,” which he suggested cost Germany key votes in the General Assembly.

ABC News

Wadephul also accused the Kremlin of agitating against Berlin for its “unwavering support” of Ukraine by maneuvering to block it from the UN’s most powerful body.

In the vote, Portugal took 134 votes and Austria 131 while Germany garnered 104, falling below the 127 votes required for election.

Merz later said, “We did not achieve our goal,” and added that the result “does not alter the tasks we face at the United Nations.”

Wadephul told reporters that “There is our firm support for Ukraine” and that “It’s no secret that Russia does not want such a voice at the Security Council,” linking Russia’s lobbying to Germany’s loss.

The Guardian reported that the opposition Greens called the result an “embarrassing defeat,” with deputy parliamentary group leader Agnieszka Brugger criticizing a failure to “underpin this bid with modern ideas.”

Actu.fr

Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland, wrote on X that “Germany now remains without a seat on the UN Security Council,” framing the loss as evidence of national decline.

Adis Ahmetovic, foreign policy spokesman for the Social Democrats’ parliamentary group, described the vote as “not a mere mishap, but a warning sign.”

Merz congratulated Austria and Portugal and said Berlin’s commitment to the UN would remain “unwavering,” while Politico described the defeat as likely to fuel domestic criticism of Merz’s leadership claims in Europe.

The defeat leaves Germany without a seat on the UN Security Council, where the five permanent members are the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain, and where the 10 rotating members serve two-year terms.

DW said Germany was last on the Security Council in 2019 and 2020, and that the vote’s winners would take seats for the next two years, while the Guardian said the council vote also elected Austria and Portugal alongside Trinidad and Tobago and Zimbabwe.

The New Voice of Ukraine reported that Kyrgyzstan, along with Zimbabwe and Trinidad and Tobago, were also elected as nonpermanent members, replacing Pakistan, Somalia, Greece, Denmark and Panama starting Jan. 1, 2027.

Politico said the setback would likely deepen domestic criticism of Merz, particularly because he ran on a promise to restore Germany’s leadership role within Europe.

Wadephul said the result would not stop Germany from continuing to “stand by our historical responsibility” to Israel, even as the loss triggered opposition pressure on Merz and his foreign minister after the vote.