Germany failed on Wednesday to secure a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) after losing a closely watched vote in the UN General Assembly to Austria and Portugal.
The setback was described by German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul as “a real disappointment” following the announcement of the results at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Germany had been competing with Austria and Portugal for two available seats allocated to the “Western European and Others Group” for the 2027–2028 term on the Security Council. To secure a seat, candidates were required to obtain a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly vote.
Portugal emerged with 134 votes, while Austria secured 131 votes. Germany received 104 votes, falling short of the required support.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe and Trinidad and Tobago were elected unopposed to seats reserved for their regional groups. Kyrgyzstan also won a seat after defeating the Philippines in another contested race.
Despite being one of the largest financial contributors to the United Nations, Germany’s campaign failed to gain enough backing. Ahead of the vote, Wadephul had emphasized that Berlin was ready to shoulder greater international responsibility in peacekeeping and global security matters, dw.com reports.
Germany had also advocated reforms within the Security Council aimed at increasing the representation and influence of Global South nations.
Reports from New York indicated that Russia conducted an intensive lobbying effort against Germany’s candidacy, amid Berlin’s continued political and military support for Ukraine in the ongoing conflict.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reacted to the result by stating: “We applied with conviction. We did not achieve our goal.”
