He has Top-Posts in the financial industry and earned millions. Now, Friedrich Merz, the CDU wants to be a Chef. Then he would have to go on distance to the economy. But can he do this? From Berlin, Sabine Kinkartz.
Of a highly paid Post in the economy in a high political office, or Vice versa: In many countries of the world, this is nothing out of the ordinary. In the USA, the revolving door between industry, Finance and politics, will be used partly intensive. “The United States has always been a competitive society, in which economic success, is a Successful model,” says the Mainz-based historian Andreas Rödder in an interview with DW. Enjoy high Reputation economically successful people in Asia. The career is regarded as a Expertise and is for a political career explicitly conducive.
In Germany it is quite different. Here, the concentration and intertwining of political and economic Power to be rejected. The state with its official and political office holders should be independent of the interests and influences of the economy act. “In a functioning market economy, the state must act as an independent referee of the competition may not be due to a dominant position of individual enterprises limited”, defined by the green member of the Bundestag, Gerhard Schick.
The Rich is not a role model
After the second world war, was introduced in the Federal Republic of Germany, the social market economy. Thus, no great social injustices arise, the state intervenes by means of certain rules in the Free market economy. “Germany is a country that is dominated by the authoritarian state, and on the other by the welfare state,” explains historian Rödder. “That’s where the entrepreneur has Successful and even Rich, much less as a role model, but in the meantime, in fact as a Problem.”
Champagne in Germany is a sign of luxury and wealth
The Friedrich Merz gets to feel, the CDU wants to be Chairman to find a successor to Angela Merkel. Ask for his income and the assets of the business lawyer dodged for a long time. Probably, not in a bad light. As he admitted recently to earn around a Million euros per year, he added directly to count still goes to the financial elite. “I have heard from my parents the values that characterize the middle class: hard work, discipline, decency, respect and giving something back to society, if you can afford it,” says Merz. “When I hear the upper class, or upper class, I think of people who have a lot of money or a company inherited and, thus, enjoy your life. This is not the case with me.”
How close to a politician must be to the citizen?
He had quite a sense of how the normal people would live, says Merz. The SPD politician and Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig of the question. With his assets and income, Merz was not a sophisticated middle-class and more. Most of the people would have been in Germany for less than 2000 Euro per month.
Who belongs to the middle class?
The Problem is that these people would face the economic and political Elite becoming more critical and feel that you would be constantly asked to pay, while the “Big players” could do what you want. “People are sick and tired of having to dance to them on the subject of Diesel on the nose, and that of the Large taxes being evaded, and you have to explain to the tax office everything and you’re sick of it too, that you can go to work and at the end there is not much left,” criticized Schwesig, Friedrich Merz recently in the ARD talk show “Anne Will”. “You can expect from the policy that we have is harder, and the question is whether you are the right person for the job.”
Member of Parliament, lawyer, consultant and the Supervisory Board
A question, however, has less to do with the account of Friedrich Merz, rather than with his career as a political Lobbyist in the financial industry. In 2006, as Merz was a member of the German Bundestag, he sat in eight Supervisory, administrative and Advisory boards of several companies. What he deserved, wanted to keep the representatives of the people at that time, necessarily in the dark. Merz was one of the members who moved against a law that should make in addition to income of members of Parliament to the public, even in front of the Federal constitutional court.
Angela Merkel took Friedrich Merz in 2002, the group’s presidency of the Union
Today, the 63-Year-old international groups, advises and sits on the Supervisory boards of companies, the fraud may in the largest tax of all-time are entangled. Against both the HSBC Bank as well as asset managers Blackrock, the Prosecutor’s office determined because of the so-called Cum-Ex – and Cum-Cum-shops, in which the state was to many billions of euros scammed.
So he had nothing to do with her Merz. The allegations relate to a time in which he had no Supervisory function. “I’m absolutely clean and have completely taken care of for transparency, I have instructed the Supervisory Board, with the Prosecutor’s office and the financial administration to work together,” Merz Wants to, most recently, in the ARD talk show “Anne”. “I have to reproach there is nothing, and I have referred to this Cum-Ex-transactions have always been as immoral and completely unacceptable. To be twice a income tax refund even though you paid only once, the things just don’t go and I have a clear opinion and I have said always are now.”
Whose interests are Friedrich Merz position?
Beyond the tax fraud the Post of Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Blackrock Germany poses another Problem. The number one asset managers is involved on exchange-traded index funds at around 17,000 companies worldwide. The managed assets amounts to, in the meantime, 6440 billion dollars. Blackrock has become in the Wake of the financial crisis, large, and will be counted to the so-called shadow banks.
No financial group manages more money than Blackrock
In 2016, hired Blackrock, Friedrich Merz. But not because of his relevant experience in asset management, but because of his political ties and Connections. Merz should use his contacts for the company in a profitable way.
Lobbying, therefore, the enforcement of the interests in the policy, is Blackrock’s worth a lot. Timo Lange by the Association lobby control calculates that the financial giant spends annually to 1.5 million Euro for this area. In the club lobby control quoted message by Blackrock concerning the tasks of the Friedrich Merz, it means that he should take a “broader role as a Consultant, in which he will promote relations with key customers, regulators, and regulatory authorities in Germany for Blackrock”. In clear text: Merz should help to prevent the financial sector shorter reins will be created.
Role change – is that so simple?
As Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Merz also needs to provide for the Welfare of his company. As a politician, the interests of the citizens it would be most important to you. He would have to build a spacer to the economy. This is so easy and so fast? “I said that I put the mandates according to my choice immediately, and I am, and feel independent enough to make political decisions independent of the professional tasks I have had in the past,” he stresses, Merz.
The green member of the Bundestag, Gerhard Schick doubts, want to measure Merz but by his deeds. “If he answered the questions in relation to his past, convincing, and makes it clear, that he enters for effective regulation of the shadow banks such as Blackrock, he can win the discussion”, so Chic. Ultimately, the CDU would decide whether they wanted to be party of the social market economy, or the uncontrolled financial economy.
The revolving door effect – many have used
Of the policy in the economy, or Vice versa, this is the way many are in Germany. Particularly prominent is the case of Gerhard Schröder. He moved in 2005 of the policy in the economy, immediately after he had lost the Chancellery to Angela Merkel. Schröder went to Nord Stream AG, which is majority-owned by Russia’s Gazprom.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Gerhard Schröder are longtime friends
Even as Chancellor he had supported the Pipeline project favourably, and he is now considered offensive to its interests. The German Public is foamed. Politicians spoke of a “three most”, of clear lobbying and political “after all”. The historian Andreas Rödder says: “Gerhard Schröder is a very responsible critical that he earns money without any political considerations, how politically problematic environment of his activity after his chancellorship has taken place.”
Since 2015 is a waiting period
Basically, anyone can be forbidden to change the policy in the economy, and Vice versa. Since 2015, politicians must, however, adhere to a waiting period. For current and former Ministers and parliamentary secretaries and a break of at least one year before they are allowed to accept a paid Job or other employment outside the public service. If the Federal government sees a public interest in risk, can be prescribed to a break of 18 months.
2014 lobby control was demonstrated for a period of
Anyone that switches from the economy to the policy, for this is not true. Kurt Biedenkopf, a former CDU General Secretary and the Saxon Prime Minister regrets the. “The proven way teaches that in the run-up to important Offices a minimum of rest in order to emphasise its independence.” Everyone knows that Merz would be a millionaire. “Why, he explained his wealth did not to the base of his independence, he wants to bring in?”
Maybe that would change something in it, to reinforce the desired separation between politics and the economy currently seems to be. This could be also the Problem, says the historian Andreas Rödder: “the fact that we have a unique, completely encapsulated politician-caste, with society and other Professions, and only for a very narrow Segment of Called feeds, is that a representative democracy is a real Problem.”