In the dispute with Merkel, he had left active politics. Now, Friedrich Merz wants to run as her successor, and for the CDU party chairmanship. The former Union Chairman is deemed to be your political design.
It was Surprise after Surprise: First, Angela Merkel is no longer announced to be under the impression of the CDU-vote loss in the state election in Hesse, to be a candidate for the CDU presidency, then, of all things, one of her harshest critics brought in position. The former Union parliamentary leader, Friedrich Merz, announced to the party chairmanship election.
This is decided at the CDU party conference in December in Hamburg. The improbable should business succeed – it would be for him a satisfaction and a late revenge on Angela Merkel. Because Merz was one of the losers of her ascension. The Chancellor had ousted him on their way to the party leadership after a series of intra-party disputes. After the lost election in 2002, Merkel claimed the Post of the group leader and urged Merz, who had taken over the Post two years earlier, out of the office.
Nagging against the Grand coalition
A quarrel that should deepen in the years to follow. His criticism of the Grand coalition government (2005 to 2009) was used as a fault-finding of a Frustrated dismissed. In 2009, the 1955 in Brilon, born in Sauerland drew the consequences, and adopted the disappointment from the big politics. He had made his decision “in the context of the current policy of the Grand coalition in Berlin,” he laid the foundations for this step.
Apparent harmony: Merkel voted in April 2000 to the party boss and Merz presented with champagne bottles
He was once a major factor of power within the Christian Democrats. From 2000 to 2002, was trained as a lawyer, as Chairman, and from 1998 to 2000 and from 2002 to 2004, as Deputy Chairman of the CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag. The financial expert was regarded as one of the greatest talents of his party, in many ways, even as Merkel’s political counter-model: business-friendly, conservative, but also provocative and entertaining.
Criticism for cultural identity-claim
In Parliament he was distinguished by his sharp, trenchant Talk, the noticeably contrasted with of Merkel’s equally analytical as soporific lectures. Merz tried again and again, for complicated political processes on simple messages to break down. Everything failed him, certainly.
For great Trouble of his plea caused, for example, for a German cultural identity in the fall of 2000. In it, he requested that rules for immigration and Integration, the image came a rejection of a multicultural society. Who wants to live permanently in Germany, said Merz, at that time, must “adapt to a growing liberal German Leitkultur”. A uniform Definition of the term “culture”, however, was not formulated.
Yet they work together: Friedrich Merz and Angela Merkel in the presentation of Merz’ tax concept 2003
Liberal and Left-hand beat him to it politically. The Alliance-Green, accusing him of a racist campaign. Only the Conservatives thanked him – until today. Merkel did not, although staff politically behind him, said but his beliefs. At the time, today’s refugee issue was still in the distance. For the scorn and ridicule of today, 62-year-old made then in 2004, as he campaigned for a tax reform, whose vertices should be on a beer Mat to explain.
Merkel’s descent chance
After retiring from the Bundestag for the conservative Christian took a Democrat of different Jobs. In 2010, he managed the privatisation of the ailing Landesbank WestLB. He sits on several boards of commercial companies, in the Supervisory Board of the Cologne/Bonn airport. Since 2009, Merz is Chairman of the “network of Atlantic-bridge”; he is also a member of the “Trilateral Commission” of Europe and since March, 2016 as Chairman of the Supervisory Board for the German branch of the world’s largest asset Manager Blackrock. Recently, he was the volunteer Brexit officer of North Rhine-Westphalia appointed.
So now the man who was defeated in the power struggle against Merkel, tried to be a political Comeback. He builds seem to support the resurgence of conservative forces within the CDU. Merkel’s descent then climb.