Germany needs a unifier. In Merz, it is getting a chancellor whose instincts are to divide | Chris Reiter and Will Wilkes
Merz takes charge this week, as German industry buckles and social fractures deepen. He will struggle to bring a wary public with himA few weeks before Germany’s federal election in late February, Friedrich Merz was forced to backpedal after a daring gambit went awry. His attempt to win votes by forcing through a hardline crackdown on migration had caused a rebellion in his own Christian Democratic party (CDU). Instead of positioning himself as a strong leader, he undermined the entire German political establishment.Merz’s strategy involved breaking a taboo by relying on far-right nationalists to pass legislation for the first time in Germany’s postwar history. The move fractured the country’s normally consensus-driven centrist parties in the Bundestag, sparked mass protests and led to a rare public rebuke from the former chancellor and CDU leader Angela Merkel.Chris Reiter and Will Wilkes are the authors of Broken Republik: The Inside Story of Germany’s Descent into Crisis. The German edition is Totally kaputt? Wie Deutschland sich selbst zerlegt Continue reading...
Merz takes charge this week, as German industry buckles and social fractures deepen. He will struggle to bring a wary public with him
A few weeks before Germany’s federal election in late February, Friedrich Merz was forced to backpedal after a daring gambit went awry. His attempt to win votes by forcing through a hardline crackdown on migration had caused a rebellion in his own Christian Democratic party (CDU). Instead of positioning himself as a strong leader, he undermined the entire German political establishment.
Merz’s strategy involved breaking a taboo by relying on far-right nationalists to pass legislation for the first time in Germany’s postwar history. The move fractured the country’s normally consensus-driven centrist parties in the Bundestag, sparked mass protests and led to a rare public rebuke from the former chancellor and CDU leader Angela Merkel.
Chris Reiter and Will Wilkes are the authors of Broken Republik: The Inside Story of Germany’s Descent into Crisis. The German edition is Totally kaputt? Wie Deutschland sich selbst zerlegt
Continue reading...
