German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's office is “full of advisers, but lacking real allies“, Politico reports, citing sources.
He has no inner circle outside the office and no loyalists, the publication notes. None of those who accompanied the Chancellor in his long rise to power remain in his immediate circle. A key former personal aide left the chancellorship after just 11 weeks, his former chief of staff was fired in January, and his personal press secretary was demoted to deputy party press secretary.
Immediately after the election, Merz and his coalition partners pressured the outgoing Bundestag to amend the constitution to allow record borrowing to finance defense, infrastructure and climate change.Except for promises on military spending, however, Germany’s course appears to have remained largely unchanged, the paper notes.
Promised energy tax cuts never materialized, nor did Merz’s much-touted “autumn of reforms.” Although he once called tax increases “poison,” high-paid employees are now bracing for further increases. Bigger economic problems persist: high energy prices, high taxes, out-of-control bureaucracy and deindustrialization, Politico reports.
Merz is beginning to remind many Germans of Angela Merkel. A former federal minister from the CDU, however, argues that this comparison is unfair, as Merkel would never allow herself to be cornered by her coalition partners. He cited as an example the recent support package - a temporary reduction in fuel taxes and a tax-free bonus of up to 1,000 euros for employees. Merz expressed doubts about these measures until the last session of coalition negotiations. Then he approved the package. According to the former minister, Merkel would never enter negotiations with such a position and would never allow her partners to portray her as weak.
„Friedrich Merz won the chancellorship by taking positions and making promises that contradict the positions and actions that define his current government. The question remains how this unprecedented rift will affect the political culture of our country“, said former German Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
In foreign policy, the chancellor was initially more decisive than her predecessors, Olaf Scholz or Merkel, especially on Russia and Europe's responsibility to defend both Ukraine and itself. Merz wants Germany to remain a member of the North Atlantic Alliance, but he also wants Europe to become less dependent on American power. At the same time, he has never supported Trump's MAGA slogan: "Make America Great Again." In addition to the lack of a loyal inner circle, Merz and his party lack a network of like-minded intellectuals who could arm them with arguments, writes Politico. The chancellor tries to speak frankly, but without sufficient arguments, he often leaves himself vulnerable to attacks, the publication explains. Merz enters his second year in office with three possible scenarios: first, preserving the coalition and implementing reforms. In this case, Germany would achieve stability, at least until the next federal election, but not the change of course promised by the chancellor. Second, the success of the "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) in the autumn elections in eastern Germany, where the far-right could win the post of state president for the first time, is strengthening the coalition's centrifugal forces. Merz has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of forming a minority government, but if he remains adamant, someone else in his party may prove less restrained, Politico notes.
The third scenario involves a crisis caused by external factors - conflict, terrorism, a pandemic or a financial crisis.
According to a poll published in late April, only 15% of Germans are satisfied with Merz's performance, while 83% are dissatisfied - the worst performance ever for a German chancellor. Even Scholz was more popular at the end of his term than Merz is now, Politico reports.
Trump criticized Merz for his remarks that the United States was being "humiliated" by the Iranians. He then announced his intention to "significantly reduce" the American contingent in Germany.
There are currently approximately 35,000 American troops stationed in Germany - almost half of all American forces in Europe; the headquarters of the US European Command is located in Stuttgart.