BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative candidate failed to win an absolute majority in the second round of Germany's presidential election on Wednesday, forcing it to a third round that could be damaging for Merkel.
Rebel votes among the ruling centre-right coalition meant Christian Wulff, state premier of Lower Saxony, failed in two rounds to beat the centre-left's candidate Joachim Gauck, a Protestant pastor and civil rights campaigner.
In the third round, to be held shortly, candidates need only a simple majority to win. Merkel badly needed a clear victory to offset criticism of her leadership in the financial crisis and record low standing in opinion polls.
(Additional reporting by Erik Kirschbaum, Dave Graham and Paul Carrel; writing by Stephen Brown)
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