Failure to win seat on UN security council sparks German soul-searching

Germany's minister for foreign affairs, Johann Wadephul, centre-left, at the UN vote in New York. He described the failure to win a seat as a ‘bitter defeat’. Photograph: Bianca Otero/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen Germany's minister for foreign affairs, Johann Wadephul, centre-left, at the UN vote in New York. He described the failure to win a seat as a ‘bitter defeat’. Photograph: Bianca Otero/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock Failure to win seat on UN security council sparks German soul-searching Criticism comes from across political spectrum after decision regarded as blow to Friedrich Merz’s government Germany’s unprecedented failure to win one of the rotating seats on the UN security council has sparked an intense round of soul searching in Berlin, and raised questions about its claims to international leadership under Friedrich Merz . The council vote on Wednesday, which elected Austria and Portugal to a two-year term along with Trinidad and Tobago and Zimbabwe, marked a blow to Merz’s struggling government, which has sought to position itself as a leading European voice on the world stage. In an awkward rivalry among EU partners, Portugal took 134 votes and Austria 131 while Germany garnered just 104, significantly below the required 127 votes despite Berlin’s expressed confidence just hours before that it would prevail. Both winners were seen to represent the interests of smaller countries, while Austria could benefit from its perceived neutrality as a non-Nato member and Portugal touted its strong ties in Africa and Latin America. But foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, who had lobbied hard for the seat, attributed the “bitter defeat” to Germany’s active role in rallying support for Ukraine and its staunch backing for Israel. “We have always taken a clear stance on certain issues, and these are positions that not all member states share,” Wadephul told reporters. He called it “no secret” that Russia had rallied sentiment against Germany, now Kyiv’s biggest national provider of military aid . “There is our firm support for Ukraine; the fact that [permanent member] Russia does not want such a voice at the security council,” he said. “The fact that Germany must always assume a special responsibility for Israel in the Middle East conflict may also have cost votes,” he said, referring to Germany’s support for Israel as a key plank of its foreign policy in atonement for the Holocaust. Wadephul said Germany would stand by Israel even if it did voice criticism of its government’s actions in Gaza , West Bank settlements and military strikes in Lebanon . Merz himself, whose popularity has plunged in his first year in power , congratulated the winners of the secret ballot for five seats on the 15-member council and insisted Berlin’s commitment to the UN would remain unwavering. Germany, the second-largest contributor country to the UN, remains a “reliable pillar of multilateralism,” he said, “acting with determination and a sense