Is Friedrich Merz, the Conservative Leader Set To Be Germany's Chancellor?

Sources say that Friedrich Merz, the conservative leader of Germany, is going to take control of the country after his party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), won the primary vote cast in the general elections for the country, defeating  Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD).

The alliance of Merz, the CDU, and the sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), brought 28.5% of the votes. According to the German broadcaster ARD, the extreme right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has 20.7%.

On Sunday evening, just before crossing the threshold of voting, Merz told his followers, "Germany will once more be governed reliably."

Who is Friedrich Merz

On November 11, 1955, Friedrich Merz was born in Brilon, Germany into a family rich in legal backgrounds. He started law studies in 1976. In 1972 he joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and in 1981, he married Charlotte Merz, another lawyer who later became a judge. The couple has three children.

He entered the European Parliament in 1989 and was later elected in 1994 to the Bundestag, Germany's federal parliament, after clinching the outright majority in the Hochsauerlandkreis constituency. Merz assumed important offices at the CDU party and served as the parliamentary leader of the party in 2000 before stepping aside for Angela Merkel in 2002. He later found himself sidelined after suffering a political defeat in 2005 when CDU/CSU entered into a coalition government with the SPD; he finally left active politics in 2009. He has since opted for a successful career in law and finance.

Friedrich Merz returned to politics nearly ten years after his last appearance. After the announcement of Angela Merkel's retirement in 2018, Merz came again into the limelight of politics. He sought the party presidency again and lost narrowly to Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who later took over from Merkel. Kramp-Karrenbauer's resignation from the post in 2020 opened another window for Merz, but the party chose Armin Laschet instead.

Merz always says he will get tough on illegal immigration and instead work to get the German economy going again. But Merz's biggest problem is forming a coalition government to gain power in order to govern the country.