Germany’s coalition government collapsed.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed Finance Minister Christian Lindner.

Lindner’s Free Democratic Party withdrew from Scholz and the “traffic light” coalition government led by him, as well as from the Green Party led by Robert Habeck.

All of this put German opposition leader Friedrich Merz under the spotlight.

Scholz said he would reach Merz immediately.

“I will now very quickly try to establish a dialogue with opposition leader Friedrich Merz,” the Social Democratic leader said. DW.

Scholz said he wanted to offer Merz the opportunity to work together constructively on “two or more issues of vital importance for our country: the rapid strengthening of our economy and our defense.”

“And we now need clarity on how we can robustly fund our security and defense in the coming years without compromising the integrity of the country,” Olaf said.

Merz currently heads the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), to which former chancellor Angela Merkel belongs, and could well become Germany’s next chancellor.

So who is 68-year-old Merz? What do we know about him?

Let’s take a closer look:

early years

Merz was born on 11 November 1955 in the West German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

according to Economist, His parents were conservative Catholic lawyers.

Merz, trained as a lawyer
was elected In 1989, to the European Parliament and then to the Bundestag, Germany’s Lower House.

He became close to the powerful finance minister of the CDU, Wolfgang Schaeuble.

By 2000, he was chairman of the CDU/Christian Social Union parliamentary group.

However, Merz lost the power struggle against Merkel, who took over the leadership of the CDU in 2002, when the party was struggling to restructure after Helmut Kohl became chancellor.

While Merkel became Germany’s second longest-serving post-war chancellor, Merz, humiliated and whose influence was greatly diminished, chose to take a break from politics.

quit politics

He left parliament in 2009 and pursued a successful career in the private sector for over a decade.

He worked as a corporate lawyer at a large Düsseldorf firm, amassed a personal fortune and held senior positions on the boards of the US investment company BlackRock and many other companies.

according to EconomistMerz frequently criticized his rival Merkel in public.

Merz once described his leadership as “damnable.” DW.

He criticized his legacy, from his open-door policy to his conciliatory attitude towards immigrants and Russia.

Merz is a millionaire former corporate lawyer who has vowed to return to the CDU party’s conservative roots as an alternative to the far right.

With early elections expected following the collapse of the center-left three-party ruling alliance, he may soon get the chance to run for the top job he has long desired.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

After years on the sidelines, Merz, a 68-year-old Roman Catholic, is ahead in the polls and looks set to lead the Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian allies to victory.

Merz is a pro-business economic liberal who published a book titled “Dare More Capitalism” in 2008; He is a passionate advocate of transatlantic ties and the European Union, and a defender of traditional social values.

But his business success and wealth exposed him to accusations that he was out of touch with most Germans; He denied these allegations, insisting that he belonged to the “upper middle class”.

Return

according to Economist, Merz shocked many by returning to the CDU in 2018.

After Merkel resigned as CDU leader, her powerful address won the support of many within the party.

But she failed to clear the final hurdle, and the party opted for Merkel’s heir, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, instead.

But after Kramp-Karrenbauer resigned in 2020, Merz tried again.

This time he lost to Armin Laschet, the centrist prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).

Then in 2021, Merz finally saw his chance.

Laschet had led the CDU/CSU to a crushing defeat in the 2021 elections.

Losing the federal elections was painful,” Merz said at the CDU party congress this year. DW. “But entering opposition also gave us the time we needed to regroup as a party.”

Merz took the lead again and won in January 2022.

This was his third attempt.

He is currently the party’s confirmed candidate for chancellor.

according to DW, Merz is the oldest
Lead candidate for German Chancellor It has been seen in fifty years.

But Merz does not lack confidence.

“We enter the 2025 federal election year with the determination to take back responsibility for our country’s leadership,” Merz said. Policy.

The CDU remains the favorite to come to power, with 32 percent of the vote according to the press, and Merz serves as chancellor.

Merz was quoted as saying in September: D.W. He said Germany’s economic situation was “precarious”.

He said it was time for politics that would enable Germany to take the lead once again.

But Merz, who has yet to hold a government post, remains a divisive figure within the party.

according to Economist, Only half of CDU voters approve of Merz’s actions.

It is also not very popular among young people and women.

Firmly to the right of the CDU, Merz has backed a tougher immigration policy and vowed to reverse the legalization of marijuana and Germany’s phasing out of nuclear energy, as he tries to win back voters who have shifted to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). ).

He sparked outrage by labeling the sons of Muslim immigrants “little pashas” and accusing Ukrainian war refugees of “welfare tourism”, for which he later apologized.

according to Economist, he also accused the refugees of failing to keep all dentist appointments.

Some within the party consider his rhetoric too close to the AfD.

In August, D.W. Merz told the CDU political congress: “Today we must agree with those who say that the problem of right-wing extremism in Germany has been underestimated for years and we must be very careful not to repeat the same mistake. “This is happening to the instigators of political Islam, who openly threaten us and are not ready to accept the rules of our country and peaceful coexistence in Germany.”

Merz also told DW: “Those who are truly integrated and willing to meet all the requirements that we have in this country legally and culturally, those people are really welcome (but), for example, those who want sharia. The State or the caliphate state has no place in Germany.”

In recent months he has led a deluge of devastating criticism of the government’s failed policies on immigration and stuttering.

Merz’s foreign policy outlook places him in the pro-NATO camp. He had previously criticized Scholz for refusing to give Ukraine Taurus cruise missiles.

according to GuardHe has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine.

The 6-foot-6-inch Merz stands out in the crowd.

He is a licensed pilot who sometimes flies his own private jet.

He is rhetorically skilled and has an apparent good political scrap.

He speaks fluent English and has spent a lot of time in the United States. DW.

Magazine Der Spiegel Noting that he, too, tended to take conflicts personally and threw tantrums, he wrote, “If Merz were a bullfighter, he would probably hold the red cloth in front of his belly.”

But according to weekly news Die Zeit, The old-school conservative is “currently the CDU’s answer” to the recent election successes of the AfD, which received close to 20 percent of the vote.

“From a bourgeois, traditional and well-to-do family background, Merz was said to have ‘nothing colorful’. Today it still corresponds to an idealized social vision in much of the country.”

Merz, on the other hand, promised not to work with the AfD.

“In some parts of our country, the CDU/CSU is the last remaining major popular party of the democratic centre,” Merz said. Policy. “This is especially true for eastern Germany, but also for all of Germany. “We have a great responsibility here, in the political center of our country.”

Merz made a call
immediate vote of confidence in parliament.

“Time is of the essence,” Merz said. Al Jazeera. “We cannot allow Germany to have a government without a majority for a few months, followed by another few months of election campaigning and possibly a few weeks of coalition negotiations.”

Guard “There is absolutely no reason to expect the confidence vote to be postponed until January,” he was quoted as saying.

“The end of last night is also the end of traffic lights,” Merz said. “And so that mandate is over.”

“Of course I am ready to hold talks and take responsibility,” he added.

With input from agencies