Down the Chimney - A Slice of Life with Chancellor Merz: The First Week's Unfinished Symphony
- Author: Nico Fried
- Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes
The Initial Period of Friedrich Merz's Career: Opportunities for Further Development - Initial Steps of Friedrich Merz's Tenure
Have you settled into the new groove yet? The evening news flashes that "Chancellor Merz" has been jet-setting somewhere, and you can't help but twitch, can you? I've even noticed news anchors hesitate a microsecond before announcing his title. The Federal Press Office was so steeped in tradition that they accidentally issued a press statement following Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to Warsaw. Whoops!
Friedrich Merz now holds the reins. What's changed in the initial seven days? Well, you no longer need a magnifying glass to spot the Germans amidst world leaders in photo ops; it's the towering figure who effortlessly dominates small talk with his international peers. At the opposite end of the spectrum, a definite growth spurt would have been required for the 6-feet-5-inch Chancellor to appear proportionate next to his Ukrainian counterparts.
Merz - Chancellor: If Something Starts Off Rocky, It Can Only Get Better, Right?
If something starts on a rocky note, they say, it can only get better. Merz's chancellorship commenced in the roughest way possible on May 6, with a disheartening lack of votes in the first ballot. The ensuing mayhem until the second round was far from pleasant for the CDU member, but it fell short of sparking a full-blown national crisis, as some pundits and opposition officials predicted. Merz stepped into office with a slight limp rather than a crown—still a chancellor-in-waiting already making history. As the old saying goes, "There's a time for everything," but perhaps even the Almighty required a moment or two to contemplate the possibility of a Merz chancellorship.
So, have things improved since then? Merz had vowed from day one to implement a firm immigration policy, instructing his interior minister to impose a de facto travel ban. Alexander Dobrindt might not have needed that directive, as he's been longing to toughen refugee policies for a decade. As soon as he took the helm, Dobrindt sent additional federal police to the borders to tighten border controls.
The challenge is immense, the legal landscape murky, the communication could use more finesse—and a few neighbors might be miffed. But the CSU is ecstatic, bringing an end to the refugee policies of Merkel's welcoming smile, and now migrants are greeted with the stern face of Bavaria's Markus Söder. And Friedrich Merz might as well announce each denied asylum claim for the sheer joy of enacting a tougher immigration policy—one of his last campaign promises still within reach.
A diplomatic visit to Kyiv offered the most favorable environment for Merz. It was a strong signal for Europe's commitment to continue aiding Ukraine. Whether the visit serves more than symbolic significance and whether additional sanctions will truly sway Putin remains to be seen. The deadline for Putin to agree to a ceasefire expired on Monday at midnight. As of Thursday, they were still working on new sanctions.
Merz's first policy speech to parliament was hardly a barnstormer. It was as yawn-worthy as Scholz's and as devoid of substance as Merkel's—Merz, the once eloquent opposition speaker, is still searching for his voice as chancellor. Articulating problems is not the same as resolving them.
After a week, Merz's chancellorship remains a bold ambition: Many things are changing, some for the better. However, Merz's "I'm pushing through" rhetoric has prompted stark comparison to his own promises since day one. And it can indeed be said: It's not quite going as well as it started poorly.
- Friedrich Merz
- Olaf Scholz
- Kyiv
- Berlin
- Tagesschau
- Federal Press Office
- Warsaw
- Prime Minister
- Donald Tusk
- Bundestag
- The Commission is also proposing to extend the scope of the programme to include migration, specifically in the context of the new chancellorship of Friedrich Merz, who has vowed to implement a firm immigration policy.
- As the political landscape continues to shift in Germany and Europe, war-and-conflicts, such as the ongoing situation in Ukraine, remain at the forefront of policy-and-legislation discussions, with Chancellor Merz visiting Kyiv to offer a show of support for Ukraine's commitment to continued aid.
- Amidst the slew of general-news surrounding Chancellor Merz's first week, the issue of politics has been at the center of heated debates, with Merz's actions facing criticism and comparison to his own promises made during his campaign.
