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East German Voters Complicate Merz Plan to Boost Ukraine Defense

East German Voters Complicate Merz Plan to Boost Ukraine Defense

Bloomberg01-03-2025

Christian Görke isn't against Germany easing its borrowing rules, he just doesn't want 'a pure economic stimulus for the arms industry.' The veteran Left Party lawmaker is part of a new class of parliamentarians that will arrive in the Bundestag next month to form a powerful opposition against incoming Christian Democratic chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Merz ran on a promise to invest more in defense. To do that, he'll likely need to change Germany's constitutional limits on borrowing, only possible with a two-thirds majority vote in parliament. But the Left Party, along with the far-right AfD, are adamantly opposed to increasing military spending in support of Ukraine. Combined they have 216 out of a total of 630 seats.

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Friedrich Merz

Here's a look at the life Friedrich Merz, chancellor of Germany. Birth date: November 11, 1955 Birth place: Brilon, Germany Birth name: Joachim-Friedrich Martin Josef Merz Father: Joachim Merz, judge Mother: Paula Sauvigny Marriage: Charlotte Gass (1981-present) Children: Three Education: Studied law at the University of Bonn and the University of Marburg, graduating in 1985. Military service: 1975–1976 Religion: Catholic Merz has a hardline stance on migration. He has called for asylum-seekers arriving from other European Union member states to be rejected at Germany's land borders. Merz has criticized liberal welfare benefits. He has promised to slash welfare spending, telling The Economist in a rare sit-down interview in the lead-up to the election that he wants to avoid 'paying people who are not willing to work.' In 2003, Merz argued that German tax rules should be simple enough to calculate on the back of a beer coaster. Merz is an amateur pilot. 1972 – Joins the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). 1985-1986 - Judge at Saarbrücken District Court. 1986-1989 - Lawyer for the German Chemical Industry Association. 1989 – Is elected to the European Parliament. 1994 – Wins a seat in the Bundestag. 2000 – Loses to Angela Merkel in a CDU party leadership election. 2009 - Merz leaves the Bundestag and joins the private sector, working as a lawyer. 2021 – Returns to his previous seat in the Bundestag. January 2022 - After two failed bids for CDU party leadership, in 2018 and 2021, Merz is selected to lead the party. February 23, 2025 – CDU and its sister party wins the federal election. Merz will likely be the next chancellor of Germany. April 9, 2025 - Announces he will form a coalition with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD). May 6, 2025 – Merz is approved as chancellor of Germany. He had fallen six votes short earlier in the day.

Friedrich Merz
Friedrich Merz

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  • CNN

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German chancellor accuses Russia of "serious war crimes" amid latest attacks

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