BERLIN, Sept 17 (Askume) – Friedrich Merz, who was ousted from top politics more than two decades ago by his main party rival Angela Merkel, is about to get his first government post: as Germany’s next chancellor.
The conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, which both top national opinion polls, agreed on Tuesday to nominate Merz, 68, as their candidate for chancellor in next year’s federal election.
Merz, a wealthy corporate lawyer, took a long break from politics after losing out to Merkel in a power struggle within the CDU in 2002. Quite the opposite.
Merkel is a consensus-oriented, even-tempered pragmatist who leads the CDU toward the center, while Merz is a brash, pugnacious economic liberal who advocates a revival of Christian values and, after his election as CDU chairwoman, moved to the right.
In recent months, he has been heard criticising Berlin’s handling of immigration – marked by Merkel’s own open-door policy – and calling for asylum seekers to be turned away from Germany’s land borders.
Merz, a Catholic father of three who is married to a judge, hopes to win back voters from the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which this month became the first far-right party since World War II to win a state election.
Although he has made a number of populist comments in the process, such as accusing some Ukrainian refugees of engaging in “social welfare tourism” and that some children of Muslim immigrants are “little pashas” who don’t respect authority, CDU insiders are concerned these comments could alienate his more centrist voters.
Hendrik Wüest, the conservative chancellor of Germany’s most populous state North Rhine-Westphalia, was considered a rival of the chancellor and warned gays in a newspaper column earlier this year that the Democratic League should stick to Merkel’s “modernity policy” rather than “earn cheap points”.
Mertz, who is nearly 2 metres (6.6 feet) taller than his opponent, dismissed what critics said was a sign of thinness and made unusual public mockery of Uster.
“He was sensitive and quick to anger, especially when he felt he was being mistreated,” said Jutta Falk-Eisinger, co-author of Merz’s unofficial biography, “The Indomitable Man.” “He didn’t have a lot of impulse control.”
However, Falck-Ischinger said Merz was more decisive than current Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was accused by his opponents of being indecisive.
He added, “He (Mertz) is open to everything and everyone and is reliable; once he says something, he does it.”
Low popularity
Merkel interpreter Alexander Clarkson said Merz was a disciple of the late CDU boss Wolfgang Schäuble, who relied on her persistence and enthusiasm to win the post of party secretary general by appealing to rank-and-file members disappointed by Merkel’s betrayal of her core principles.
“But he doesn’t have much deep support within the party and faces huge internal pressure whenever he makes a mistake,” he said.
Support for the Conservatives has risen to around 33% in opinion polls after their worst-ever result in the 2021 general election, though analysts say the number is relatively modest given the unpopularity of Scholz’s maverick coalition.
Like Scholz, Merz has long lagged behind in the political popularity rankings, though his star has risen slightly recently.
A senior CDU politician, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “He lacked popularity, but maybe in today’s times you don’t need to do that, but you need to show strength – which he did.”
“Dare to practice more capitalism”
Merz, who grew up in a small western town and is the eldest son of a judge, was ousted as CDU parliamentary leader by Merkel in 2002 and left the Bundestag in 2009 to pursue a successful business career.
The amateur pilot revealed in 2018 that he earns around 1 million euros ($1.1 million) per year and has served on the advisory and supervisory boards of several major companies, including Commerzbank and BASF. He also served as chairman of the German branch of BlackRock, the world’s largest fund management company.
Critics accuse her of being out of touch with ordinary Germans and representing the interests of the corporate elite rather than those of the people. In a country wary of appearances, her decision to fly a private jet to the 2022 wedding of Finance Minister Christian Lindner sparked controversy.
Supporters say his experience in the private sector could help him better understand how to restart a stalled economy.
Meltz, author of the 2008 book “Dare to Live Capitalism,” has said he wants to reduce social benefits and taxes, especially on corporations. He also wants to simplify Germany’s notoriously complex tax system. He once said the annual tax return should be so simple it could be written on a beer mat.
Merz, who has long opposed Germany’s withdrawal from nuclear power, said the government should create more competitive conditions for all companies, such as by lowering energy prices and promoting innovation, rather than just a few industries such as electric cars.
The main problem with the proposals is that Mertz has not explained how he would finance them, said Karsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING Research.
“All of Merz’s economic policy suggestions are reasonable, but they are typical opposition suggestions and not constructive ideas for the next government,” he said.
Churchill fan
Merz’s fiscal conservatism, in particular his opposition to common European debt, may also hamper ideas that would boost EU growth, such as increased public investment.
Nevertheless, Merz, who began her political career as a European legislator, describes herself as a “truly inspiring European” and advocates a closer alliance, especially on defense and foreign policy.
With his tough stance on Russia and China, this arguably puts him more on a par with French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited Paris late last year, than Scholz, the Eurasia Group said. He said that apart from Schäuble, the politician who most influenced him was British World War II leader Winston Churchill.
Mertz also describes himself as a “committed transatlanticist” and for ten years served as President of Atlantic Bridge, a non-profit organisation that promotes relations between the US and the Americas.
His ability to implement any of his ideas will depend to some extent on his ability to form a coalition with the three ruling parties he has attacked for years, since they – like the leaders of all mainstream parties – have ruled out the possibility of working with him.
“As chancellor, he could satisfy a growing desire for politicians with clear convictions after the era of Merkel and Scholz,” said Karsten Nickel of political risk consultancy Teneo. “But German politics is ultimately about compromise, and that might not come naturally to Merz.”
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