Trump Sets Example Among German Conservatives

Conservative candidate for the German government leadership, Christian Democrat (CDU) Friedrich Merz, intends to emulate the policy of the elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, and to position himself at the same level when they have their first contacts, in addition to setting similar priorities for his own country.

"In Germany, we have never sufficiently articulated and reaffirmed our interests, and we need to change that," Merz states in an interview with the German weekly 'Stern', emphasizing that he would like to take the offensive approach of the United States as an example.

"The idea is not that only one side benefits, but that we make good deals for both sides. Trump would call it a business," assures the German conservative leader, whom all polls without exception place as the new federal chancellor after the early elections at the beginning of 2025.

"We need to move from being a dormant middle power to being a leading middle power again," says Friedrich Merz, who hopes to deal with the US president-elect: "I am watching Trump, talking to many people who know him very well. They tell me: you have to face him with a serious face and clarity."

The CDU president accuses the federal chancellor's government, Olaf Scholz, of having poorly managed the US elections. "He should have been prepared for his re-election," Merz states in the interview, accusing the federal foreign ministry of taking sides and unilaterally siding with Kamala Harris.

"Trump has a good memory. The current Federal Government will no longer be heard by the new administration," assures the German conservative leader, for whom "Scholz is now also a lame duck internationally," with a minority government after the coalition's breakup with the liberals last Wednesday.

Friedrich Merz insists in his interview with 'Stern' on the demand that early elections be held as soon as possible and not at the end of March as Scholz proposes, for which the federal chancellor should present the motion of confidence to the Bundestag no later than next Wednesday.

It will not be until then that the conservatives will be willing to negotiate parliamentary approval of some bills with the outgoing government, initially a tripartite in which social democrats and greens remain after the expulsion of the liberals.

The chancellor candidate also announces the abolition of the citizen's income, subsidies for people without income. "We want a new basic security system." Of course, we must help those in need, "but those who can work must also work, otherwise they are not entitled to full state assistance," warns Merz.

Interestingly, the CDU president sees a model to follow in an SPD chancellor. "We want to achieve what Schröder did with Agenda 2010: increase the number of employed people and reduce the number of unemployed," referring to the Social Democrat Gerhard Schröder, who governed Germany between 1998 and 2005. The unemployment rate in Germany is currently 6%.