Latest news with #ChristianDemocrats'
Euractiv
09-07-2025
- Health
- Euractiv
How Germany's great conservative hope became Friedrich Merz's greatest liability
BERLIN – There was a time when the world considered Jens Spahn, the pugnacious German conservative, as his country's chancellor-in-waiting. Young, gay and provocative, Spahn shattered the mould of the stuffy, pipe-smoking, Kohl-era German conservative of yore. Even the left-leaning Guardian was enthralled, calling him in 2016 "the man who could replace Merkel". That was then. Though Spahn went on to become a minister and now holds one of the most powerful positions in German politics as leader of the Christian Democrats' parliamentary group – a post that served as a final stepping stone for both Friedrich Merz and Angela Merkel en route to the chancellery – few would put money on his prospects these days. In recent weeks, the 45-year-old former health minister has become mired in the first major scandal of Merz's chancellorship. The affair, which concerns the role Spahn played during the pandemic in doling out mask contracts, has reverberated amid a broader reckoning in Germany over how the government and health officials dealt with the pandemic. The optics are devastating. Spahn's ministry spent some €6 billion on 5.8 billion face masks – often without a competitive tender and in some cases at inflated prices. Some procurement contracts went to a company from his small Westphalian constituency, others were linked to recommendations from fellow party members. Spahn denies any wrongdoing. A Merkel critic Spahn – tall, square-jawed, and articulate – is an unusual star of the Christian Democrats' conservative wing. Having entered the German Parliament at only 22, the openly gay MP made a name for himself as a critic of Merkel's liberal migration policy during the mid-2010s. Spahn's willingness to speak truth to power – even in his own ranks – helped make the telegenic young conservative the face of the CDU's new generation. Once Spahn's rising prominence made him impossible to ignore, a reluctant Merkel relented and brought him into her cabinet in 2018 as health minister, a daunting brief that was widely seen as a test. Two years later, the once-in-a-century pandemic hit, triggering a series of fateful mistakes by Spahn that now threaten his political future. Murky mask deals Germany's National Court of Auditors concluded in 2025 that only a third of all the masks ordered under Spahn were eventually used. More than half were destroyed. Some of the orders were not accepted by the ministry due to quality issues, prompting lawsuits from suppliers. The court had already criticised Spahn's approach in 2021, but the lawmaker managed to emerge largely unscathed from the revelations until he took on his new post as the Christian Democrats' parliamentary chief. A probe commissioned by Spahn's successor, Karl Lauterbach, a Social Democrat (SPD), and authored by Margaretha Sudhof, a civil servant and fellow SPD member, surfaced in April, just weeks after Spahn took on his new role. The 170-page report, published in full in June, suggests Spahn ignored warnings from expert staff about the mask contracts. An un-redacted version of the report was recently leaked to the media and contains Sudhoff's scathing judgments on some of the deals – among them, contracts that paid €7 per mask, prices that were "difficult to comprehend." Spahn, who has since undergone a hearing in front of the budget committee, insisted he acted in good faith. 'It was a once-in-a-century crisis and an emergency situation' he said. 'In times of need, having something is more important than needing it.' He acknowledged taking financial risks to procure scarce masks and "first talking to people I knew in an emergency," but denied any impropriety. Internal calculus Years on, the mask contracts are causing a headache for Merz, even though he wasn't in government at the time. The scandal hit just as Merz's approval ratings had started to recover following a backlash over concessions he made during coalition talks. Opposition parties have been pushing for an official parliamentary inquiry, which could lead to months of damaging headlines and testimony. Parliamentary metrics, however, are likely to work in Merz's favour: The Greens and The Left, two left-wing parties, would have to work with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to reach the required quorum for setting up an inquiry – probably a bridge too far for both. The opposition would thus need support from at least eight defectors from the CDU and their coalition partners, the Social Democrats, who are nominally bound by coalition discipline. Still, the optics are damaging. The current health minister, Nina Warken, also from the CDU, first refused to publish the report. Then she published only a redacted version of the report, citing privacy concerns and lashing out at Sudhof's methodology. The latter has been a preferred line of attack of Spahn's CDU peers, who have so far unreservedly backed Spahn. The CDU's number two, General Secretary Carsten Linnemann, said on Monday that he saw "nothing new" in the unredacted version, but "subjective, personal statements about Mr Spahn by Ms Sudhof." Merz had previously criticised the Sudhof's report for failing to consult Spahn himself. Spahn's future Above all, the report puts a question mark over Spahn's credibility and political future. He had long had a sense for staying on the winning side: first opposing Merz's second bid for the party leadership in favour of the subsequent winner Armin Laschet, then switching camps when Laschet failed to win the chancellery in 2021. Spahn also shook off a previous scandal involving a loan he received from a local bank on whose board he served. Spahn and his husband used to fund the purchase of a multi-million-euro villa in Berlin, but sold it in 2023 amid a public uproar over the credit. Like that affair, the latest uproar has raised fundamental questions about Spahn's judgement and credibility. So far, Merz is sticking with Spahn. The only question is for how long. (mm)
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Merz signals Ukraine could use Taurus missiles to target Crimea, Kerch Bridge
Friedrich Merz, Germany's chancellor-in-waiting, suggested on April 13 that long-range Taurus missiles, if delivered to Ukraine, could be used to target strategic Russian military infrastructure in occupied Crimea, including the Kerch Bridge. The 19-kilometer-long (12-mile) Crimean (Kerch) Bridge, constructed following Russia's illegal occupation of Crimea in 2014 and completed in 2018, serves as a vital supply route for Russian forces. The bridge has been targeted by Ukraine multiple times, suffering heavy damage in strikes in October 2022 and July 2023. In an interview with ARD's Caren Miosga, Merz emphasized the need to support Ukraine in moving from a reactive to a proactive stance on the battlefield, saying Kyiv must be equipped to "shape events" and "get ahead of the situation." "If things continue as they are, if, for example, the most important land connection between Russia and Crimea is destroyed, or if something happens on Crimea itself, where most of the Russian military logistics are located, then that would be an opportunity to bring this country strategically back into the picture finally," Merz said. While outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly blocked the delivery of Taurus missiles over his concerns about escalation, Merz has long criticized that stance. With Merz poised to take office following his Christian Democrats' election win, the decision to supply Taurus missiles could soon return to the political agenda. It remains uncertain whether his future coalition partners from the Social Democrats will back the move. Merz also clarified that he was not calling for direct German involvement in the war but rather for arming Ukraine with the capability to take the initiative. The German politician has previously voiced support for supplying Taurus missiles to Ukraine, stressing that such a step must be coordinated with European allies. "Our European partners are already supplying cruise missiles," he reiterated on April 13, citing British, French, and U.S. efforts. "If it is coordinated, then Germany should participate in it." Ukraine has already received U.S.-supplied ATACMS as well as SCALP/Storm Shadow cruise missiles from France and the U.K. Both Washington and London have permitted Kyiv to use these systems to strike targets within Russian-occupied territory, including Crimea. The previous Biden administration and the U.K. also allowed strikes with long-range missiles against military targets on Russian soil in late 2024, namely in the Russian border regions of Kursk and Bryansk. Incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized the move. In the interview, Merz condemned a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy on April 13, which killed at least 34 civilians and injured more than 100, calling it "a deliberate and intentional serious war crime." "And I say to all those in Germany who naively call on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to come to the negotiating table – this is the answer," he said. "That's what Putin does to those who talk to him about a ceasefire." Merz warned that Moscow interprets calls for peace as a sign of weakness. "He obviously interprets our willingness to talk not as a serious offer to facilitate peace but as weakness," he said, referring to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's visit to Moscow last year, which was followed days later by a missile strike on a children's hospital in Kyiv. The Western diplomatic isolation imposed on Putin after the outbreak of the full-scale war seems to be unraveling as Trump has resumed direct diplomatic contact with Moscow in an effort to broker a ceasefire. These efforts have largely stalled, as the Kremlin rejected a proposal by Washington and Kyiv for a full 30-day truce and continued in deadly attacks against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure despite a partial ceasefire agreed upon on March 25. Read also: 'A war crime' — European leaders react to Russia's Palm Sunday attack on Sumy that killed dozens We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Daily Tribune
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Daily Tribune
German vote winner Merz seeks to build govt with centre-left as Europe waits
Germany's conservative election winner Friedrich Merz said yesterday he would seek talks with the centre-left to speedily build a government as Europe faces tectonic changes in transatlantic ties. The Christian Democrats' (CDU) leader said he would reach out to the Social Democrats (SPD) of vanquished Chancellor Olaf Scholz with hopes of forging a stable ruling alliance of the two traditional big-tent parties. After the surge of the far-right AfD, Merz said the mainstream parties must answer concerns of voters drifting to the fringes, calling the AfD's record 20 percent result 'the last warning to the political parties of the democratic centre in Germany'. Merz, 69, has said he wants a ruling coalition in place within two months so Berlin can act again on the European and world stage after months of paralysis since Scholz's coalition imploded in early November. US President Donald Trump has blindsided Europe and Ukraine by launching direct talks with Russia to end the war and voicing doubt about America's future commitment to the NATO alliance. Trump has repeated Russian talking points about Ukraine's supposed responsibility in starting the war, raising concern in Europe that he would agree to Moscow's terms. Merz, a committed transatlanticist, said yesterday he would seek good ties with the United States under Trump but was also ready for 'the worstcase scenario'. 'All the signals we are receiving from the United States indicate that interest in Europe is decreasing,' he told a post-election press conference in Berlin. Merz also said he had a 'lengthy' call with Emmanuel Macron late Sunday, as the French president headed to Washington to meet with Trump. 'We discussed the topics he wants to address with the American president, and I found that there was complete agreement between what he wants to say and what I want to say', Merz said.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FTSE 100 LIVE: London markets and DAX higher as new German leader named
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) and Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) ticked higher in early trade on Monday, following news of the Christian Democrats' lead in the German elections. Friedrich Merz led the party to a 28.6% share of the vote. The far right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party came second with 20.8% of the vote. The CDU ruled out working in coalition with the AfD and will begin talks with the party of outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Social Democrats, who achieved 16.4% of the vote. The FTSE 100 rose 0.2% at the start of the session. The index was led upwards by gains for defence and aerospace company BAE Systems (BA.L). Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) was 0.2% higher as the country watches for the formation of a new government. Paris's CAC 40 (^FCHI) was knocked 0.6% lower and the STOXX 600 (^STOXX) fell 0.2% into the red. Over in Asian markets, the rally in Chinese tech stocks cooled following an executive order from the US restricting Chinese spending on some strategic US sectors. President Donald Trump directed the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to restrict Chinese spending on technology, energy and other sectors. The Hang Seng (^HSI) fell 0.6% in the session and the SSE Composite ( was 0.2% lower. The euro strengthened against the pound and the dollar in early trade on Monday, as news ekes out about Friederich Merz's next steps. The euro rose about 0.1% against sterling to just below the €1.21 mark. It was also around 0.2% higher against the dollar, sitting at around the $0.95 mark. From our US team: US stock futures ticked upward Sunday night after a week that saw the major indexes slump, with the Dow logging its worst weekly performance since October, sparking fears of a pullback in response to record-high levels. Nasdaq (NQ=F) futures bounced back about 0.5%. S&P 500 (ES=F) futures made a similar upward move of 0.5%, and futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) crept up 0.4%. Key events this week include the January report for the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) index on Friday. The PCE index is the Federal Reserve's preferred measure for inflation. Meanwhile, earnings continue to roll in, with Nvidia (NVDA) taking the spotlight, releasing after the bell on Wednesday. Wall Street's earnings expectations are high after the former darling of the AI stock surge saw a rocky month when the emergence of Chinese competitor DeepSeek battered the stock's value. Of course, the coming week will probably also be defined by market reaction to President Donald Trump's unpredictable policy moves. A flurry of tariff changes led investor moves throughout February, yet economists say Trump's immigration policy changes could be just as meaningful in the weeks ahead. Hello from London. Lucy Harley-McKeown here, ready to bring you the latest markets news of the day. The main event driving European markets today is set to be the fallout from the German election. The country's Christian Democrats (CDU) topped the polls on Sunday. The party's leader, Friedrich Merz, will be preparing to head a coalition government after his conservative party won 28.6% of the vote. Later today brings the German Ifo confidence survey, too, and fresh EU inflation data. In the US, Dominoes Pizza (DPZ) reports its results. Let's get to it. Over in Asian markets, the rally in Chinese tech stocks cooled following an executive order from the US restricting Chinese spending on some strategic US sectors. President Donald Trump directed the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to restrict Chinese spending on technology, energy and other sectors. The Hang Seng (^HSI) fell 0.6% in the session and the SSE Composite ( was 0.2% lower. The euro strengthened against the pound and the dollar in early trade on Monday, as news ekes out about Friederich Merz's next steps. The euro rose about 0.1% against sterling to just below the €1.21 mark. It was also around 0.2% higher against the dollar, sitting at around the $0.95 mark. From our US team: US stock futures ticked upward Sunday night after a week that saw the major indexes slump, with the Dow logging its worst weekly performance since October, sparking fears of a pullback in response to record-high levels. Nasdaq (NQ=F) futures bounced back about 0.5%. S&P 500 (ES=F) futures made a similar upward move of 0.5%, and futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) crept up 0.4%. Key events this week include the January report for the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) index on Friday. The PCE index is the Federal Reserve's preferred measure for inflation. Meanwhile, earnings continue to roll in, with Nvidia (NVDA) taking the spotlight, releasing after the bell on Wednesday. Wall Street's earnings expectations are high after the former darling of the AI stock surge saw a rocky month when the emergence of Chinese competitor DeepSeek battered the stock's value. Of course, the coming week will probably also be defined by market reaction to President Donald Trump's unpredictable policy moves. A flurry of tariff changes led investor moves throughout February, yet economists say Trump's immigration policy changes could be just as meaningful in the weeks ahead. Hello from London. Lucy Harley-McKeown here, ready to bring you the latest markets news of the day. The main event driving European markets today is set to be the fallout from the German election. The country's Christian Democrats (CDU) topped the polls on Sunday. The party's leader, Friedrich Merz, will be preparing to head a coalition government after his conservative party won 28.6% of the vote. Later today brings the German Ifo confidence survey, too, and fresh EU inflation data. In the US, Dominoes Pizza (DPZ) reports its results. Let's get to it.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Friedrich Merz: conservative on verge of German chancellery
Friedrich Merz, the man expected to become Germany's next chancellor, has vowed to rule Europe's top economy by returning to his Christian Democrats' conservative roots, help business and crack down on irregular immigration. A long-time rival of centrist ex-chancellor Angela Merkel within the CDU party, Merz has attacked her open-door migrant policy and drawn her ire for accepting support from the far-right AfD on the flashpoint issue in parliament. At age 69, trained lawyer Merz boasts a strong business background -- including at investment fund BlackRock and on many corporate boards, which made him a millionaire -- but has never held a government leadership post. Nonetheless, the combative orator seeks to project a statesman-like persona and has voiced confidence he can deal with mercurial US President Donald Trump, whom he has labelled "predictably unpredictable". As the three-way coalition of centre-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz has floundered, Merz as head of the opposition CDU/CSU block has rained withering fire on the outgoing "green-left" government. Polls have long declared Merz -- despite lukewarm personal approval ratings -- the strong favourite to oust Scholz and bring an end to what Merz labels "three lost years" for Germany. In a recent blistering parliament speech, Merz likened Scholz and his allies to business managers who have bankrupted a company but still ask to extend their contracts by four years. "Do you know what the owners would say once they stopped laughing?" Merz asked mockingly. "They would politely ask you to leave the company. That's how it is in normal life." Merz's campaign promise is to revive the ailing economy and rebuild Berlin's international standing for "a Germany we can be proud of again". - 'Zero tolerance' - Among his toughest proposals are plans to shut German borders to undocumented migrants, even if they seek asylum and to detain those awaiting deportation. Merz has in the past labelled the sons of Muslim immigrants "little pashas" and accused some Ukrainian war refugees of "social welfare tourism", before later apologising. Last month, Merz sparked high drama in parliament -- and waves of street protests -- when he pushed through a motion signalling his immigration crackdown with support from the extreme-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), breaking a long-standing taboo. In other signals of a rightward shift, Merz has vowed a "zero tolerance" law and order drive, to reverse marijuana legalisation, limit "woke" policies and gender-sensitive language and study a return to nuclear power. Merz argues all this will lure voters back from the AfD. But, if he wins, he may have to temper some of his policies as he seeks one or more coalition partners. Scholz has sought to portray his rival as a "hothead" and charged that his dalliance with the AfD signals he would one day rule with the far-right party -- a charge Merz strongly rejects. News magazine Der Spiegel has said Merz takes conflicts personally and is sometimes given to fits of anger, opining that "if Merz were a bullfighter, he would probably hold the red cloth in front of his stomach". - Hobby pilot - Merz, who is Roman Catholic, was born on November 11, 1955, and lives among the rolling hills and forests of the Sauerland region of North Rhine-Westphalia state. At six foot six (198 centimetres) tall, Merz stands out in a crowd and is a licenced pilot who sometimes flies his own private jet. He has been married for more than 40 years to Charlotte Merz, a judge, with whom he has three adult children. He was elected to the European Parliament in 1989 and soon after to the Bundestag, where his mentor was the late CDU powerbroker Wolfgang Schaeuble. After chancellor Helmut Kohl's long reign ended in a slush fund scandal, Merkel soon sidelined Merz to take over the party and went on to run Germany for 16 years. For over a decade, Merz pursued a career in the private sector but never gave up his life-long ambition of becoming chancellor. A free-market liberal who wants to cut corporate taxes and slash red tape to help Germany Inc, he outlined his views in a 2008 book titled "Dare More Capitalism". Merz has sought to turn his long stint in the business world into a key selling point, said political scientist Antonios Souris of Berlin's Free University. "He likes to flirt a little with this role of having returned to politics as an outsider, as an experienced captain of industry, not just a career politician like Scholz." His CV and personal wealth have left Merz open to charges of being out of touch with voters -- an accusation he has rebuffed by insisting he belongs to the "upper middle class". ilp-sr-fec/fz/jj
