Who Is Friedrich Merz, Next German Chancellor? (image:x.com/_FriedrichMerz)
Berlin, Germany: Germany‘s conservatives won the national election on Sunday (February 23) with Opposition leader Friedrich Merz headed to be next German Chancellor. In the polls, Merz’s Christian Democratic Alliance (CDU/CSU) won at least 28.5%, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) emerged as a strong political force by securing second position with 20.8%.
As the plans for a coalition government is slowly emerging, Merz, a man who has never held a government role, is all set to take the reins in the country.
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Who is Friedrich Merz?
Witnessing his party’s lead towards victory, Merz told the supporters: “Germany will once more be governed reliably,” Reuters reports. The 69-year-old opposition leader became the leader of CDC after a former rival and longtime Chancellor Angela Merkel stepped down in 2021.
Hailing from Germany’s Brilon town, Merz belongs to a family with strong legal tradition. He started his political journey with CDC in 1972, and slowly rose to prominence by holding key positions in the party and then, went on to become the party’s parliamentary leader in 2000. However, in 2002, he gave up the position to Angela Merkel.
In 2009, Merz took a break from active politics, focused on his career in law and finance. He later headed the supervisory board of investment manager at BlackRock’s German branch. In 2018, after Merkel’s retirement announcement, Merz decided to return in politics. After losing initial bids to take over party leadership, in 2022, he successfully took over the reins of the party.
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Merz’s steered the wheels of the party towards more conservative direction. During the election campaigns he expressed his unapologetic stand against irregular migration and pledged to curb it as central issue. As preparing himself to lead the country in one of its most challenging times, Merz said reviving Germany economy is also his pertinent aim.
