Friedrich Merz. Photo: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS.
After the victory of the conservative CDU/CSU bloc in the parliamentary elections in February, 68-year-old Friedrich Merz has every chance of becoming German Chancellor as early as Tuesday. His path to power has been long and controversial: a businessman, lawyer, BlackRock lobbyist and politician who, after being defeated in the 2000s, returned to the political arena in 2018.
The new government will be formed amid serious geopolitical tensions: the war in Ukraine is ongoing, transatlantic relations with the United States are deteriorating, and the far-right AfD party is growing in popularity in Germany, which has become the main opposition force. Despite the coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and the SPD, the new ruling majority will have only 328 seats out of 630 in the Bundestag.
Friedrich Merz, known as a critic of Angela Merkel’s policies, returned to politics after a decade in the private sector. In 2016-2020, he headed the German office of the investment giant BlackRock, where he was actively involved in lobbying. This became a cause for criticism in the media due to a conflict of interest between corporate and state interests.
Merz emphasises that his government’s priorities will be economic recovery, migration policy reform, and strengthening Germany’s defence capabilities in the face of the Russian threat. His personality is perceived differently: for some, he is an experienced reformer, for others, a representative of big business who may increase social polarisation.
Merz’s government is expected to continue supporting Ukraine, but there are increasingly loud voices in Germany calling for a review of foreign policy and calls for “internal stability”. The first months of his administration will be crucial, as they will show whether the new chancellor is able to respond to the key challenges of modern Europe.
