Mickey Friedman: The Red-Black Coalition of Doubt - A Rocky Start for Merz's Chancellorship
- *
Coalition of Mistrust Forms under Schwarz-Rot, According to Friedman - Coalition of Mistrust Emerges: Black-Red Partners Form Uneasy Alliance
Publicist Mickey Friedman pinpoints the rocky beginning of Friedrich Merz's (CDU) Chancellorship as a coalition of mistrust. "It's never happened in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany that a Chancellor hasn't earned their own majority in the first round. That's a flop. And this flop will leave a lasting impression," Friedman told the German Press Agency at a Potsdam event. "This coalition starts off as a coalition of doubt."
Turns out, Merz only managed to secure the Federal Chancellorship in the second round on Tuesday. The necessary two-thirds majority for a time extension in the second round was only garnered with the votes of the Greens and the Left, emphasized Friedman. This shows that democracy is resilient. Without the backing of the two opposition parties, the second round would've been delayed until at least Friday.
According to Friedman, Merz now faces a constant question: Can I count on majorities? "I hope he can, because I hope it for our country," said the publicist. "We need a steady government. And in democracy, a steady government is still only a steady government if it has the parliamentary majority."
Friedman used to be a member of the CDU. In January, he left the party following the joint Bundestag vote on migration policy with the AfD.
- Michel Friedman
- Chancellor Election
- CDU
- Friedrich Merz
- Potsdam
- Democracy
- Federal Republic of Germany
- German Press Agency
Extra Insights:
The Chancellor election's initial vote for Friedrich Merz revealed deep-seated tensions within the coalition government, formed by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Publicist Michel Friedman highlighted the coalition's "shaky foundation," as Merz was initially rejected in the first round of voting, a historical first for a presumptive chancellor. This was due to 18 members of Merz's own governing coalition voting secretly against him, causing him to fall short of the majority needed. Although a second round of voting eventually secured Merz the chancellorship, the episode revealed stark political differences between the moderate CDU and the left-leaning SPD, who had only joined forces primarily to exclude the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) from power[2]. Friedman's observation underscores that the coalition is held together more by the shared goal of keeping AfD out of government than by cohesive policy agreement. The precariousness of the coalition was mirrored in the rising approval ratings of the AfD, which at one point surpassed the CDU, suggesting that the coalition's internal disagreements could undermine effective governance and reform efforts. These internal divisions threaten the coalition's ability to manage Germany's political and economic challenges, as well as to implement their policy agenda[2].
- Mickey Friedman, a former member of the CDU, expressed his concerns about Friedrich Merz's Chancellorship, stating that it started on a note of doubt, never before seen in the Federal Republic of Germany.
- The German Chancellor election revealed deep-seated tensions within the CDU and SPD coalition, with 18 members of Merz's own government voting secretly against him in the initial round.
- In his comments to the German Press Agency, Friedman emphasized that Merz now faces the constant question of whether he can count on majorities, a crucial aspect of a steady government in democracy.
- The coalition government's precariousness was mirrored in the rising approval ratings of the AfD, indicating that internal disagreements could undermine effective governance and reform efforts.
