Germany Fails to Secure UN Security Council Seat: “Crushing Defeat After Siding with Israel”

Precedent of 'non-permanent seat every eight years' broken
Opposition: "Foreign Minister Merz's crushing defeat"

Germany, together with the United States one of the world’s largest donor countries, failed to secure a seat in the United Nations Security Council non-permanent member election. This is the first time Germany has lost after serving as a non-permanent member six times.

According to AP and other sources, in the Security Council non-permanent member elections held on June 3 (local time), Austria, Portugal, Kyrgyzstan, Zimbabwe, and Trinidad and Tobago were elected as non-permanent members for two-year terms.

In the Western European and Others Group (WEOG) vote, which had two seats allocated, Germany received 104 votes, falling short to Austria (134 votes) and Portugal (131 votes), and therefore was not elected.

Although more than 50 countries have never served as Security Council members since the UN Security Council’s founding in 1946, Germany had held a non-permanent seat in eight-year cycles since its reunification in 1990. This precedent was broken this time.

Germany has argued that, given its status as the world’s third-largest economy and, as of last year, the largest provider of official development assistance, it should serve as a non-permanent member more frequently than other countries.

German Foreign Minister Johann Barden campaigned in New York over the past week, but after Germany’s defeat, attributed the result to a campaign led by Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, which opposed Germany’s support for Ukraine.

Some observers noted that Germany’s unconditional support for Israel provoked backlash from the international community during this process. Portugal officially recognized Palestine as a state at the UN General Assembly last year, while Austria maintains a neutral stance.

Ines Schwertner, co-leader of the Left Party, criticized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, stating, “Germany remained silent even when the United States and Israel violated international law in Gaza, Venezuela, and the Iran war,” and called it “the so-called Foreign Minister Merz’s crushing defeat.”

Minister Barden also commented, “Our position that Germany must always bear a special responsibility toward Israel in Middle East affairs may have cost us votes.”

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul sitting at the United Nations General Assembly Photo by AFP Yonhap News

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.