The 69 -year -old chief of the CDU Friedrich Merz is likely one of the primary favorites for the German chancellor after Sunday capturing elections.
Friedrich Merz, chief of the Union of Christian Democratic Union (CDU), social gathering chief and entrance -electoral runner, waited a very long time to succeed in this level – one step away from the German chancellor.
The 69 -year -old has been consistently upfront within the polls for the reason that historic operator Olaf Scholz I misplaced a vote of belief In December final yr, leading to an early election this Sunday 23 February.
Previously a protracted -standing rival of the previous chancellor Angela Merkel, the comparatively proper Merz, turned president of the CDU social gathering in January 2022 and have become the designated candidate for the chancellor in September final yr.
Trying to steer the social gathering in a extra conservative path, he made irregular migration to curb a central query in his coverage.
Merz studied regulation and initially labored as a lawyer. After becoming a member of the CDU whereas he was nonetheless in school, he had all the time had consideration to politics and was elected to the European Parliament in 1989. So he went to inner politics after turning into a member of the German Parliament in 1994.
Get by way of the ranks of the social gathering of the subsequent few years, Merz was lastly put apart throughout the social gathering after an influence battle with Angela Merkel. He determined to depart politics and handed a number of years to work in senior positions within the personal sector, corresponding to Blackrock Germany and HSBC Trinkhaus & Burkhardt, and served additionally on the Board of Directors of Germany and the Borussia Dortmund soccer group.
His return to Parliament greater than a decade later was marked by his makes an attempt to maneuver the CDU to what has been characterised as a extra socially conservative and pro-business place.
When it involves immigration, Merz did waves in January when he crossed a non -binding motion This has supported extra rigorous immigration guidelines, corresponding to borders controls and the rise in deportations, regardless of the criticisms that this might break each the German asylum regulation and that.
Perhaps in a extra pertinent method in the case of its potential need to enter a politically dangerous territory, Merz was largely clean for backtracking on its place to not work with the choice for Germany (AFD) and violate the so -called “firewall” in opposition to the distant proper sport to go the measurements. Later excluding Any future cooperation with the far proper.
With the German financial system at present in critical difficulties, Merz has typically criticized the financial insurance policies proposed by the Scholz authorities, blaming them for the nation’s financial disaster. He is a supporter of the discount of social advantages and downsizing authorities employment. Controversial, it additionally helps the tax cuts, which would scale back authorities revenues, regardless of being open to the discount of presidency subsidies.
When it involves overseas coverage, Friedrich Merz was assertive in the course of the Safety Conference of Monaco final week, stating that Germany ought to play a largest management function within the EU, additionally committing assist to Ukraine and supporting his personal adhesion to NATO.
Merz is married and has three youngsters. An aviation fanatic, in accordance with what reviews it has two airplanes that flies in his free time.
