Chillin' with Merz: The Relatable Chancellor Next Door
Neighboring Chancellor's Amiable Demeanor Stands Out
By Volker Petersen
After the government announcement in the Bundestag, Chancellor Merz chills with Maybrit Illner and thus enters the living rooms of the Germans - there he explains, once more, what he plans to do with the government and has a good night, although an announcement leaves some disappointed.
Even a week after his inauguration, the new Chancellor still reaps the benefits of not being the old one. In Maybrit Illner's talk show in the evening, Friedrich Merz presented himself as down-to-earth, ready to explain, and easy to understand, thus breaking away from his predecessor Olaf Scholz in a refreshing manner. Scholz's trademark was to dodge ambiguous questions with "No" or to talk until everyone had forgotten the question. However, this doesn't mean that Merz always had ironclad responses.
In terms of content, Illner intended to delve into the government declaration of Wednesday step by step. The two swiftly covered topics such as Ukraine, migration, economy, climate, and, inevitably, the far-right AFD - which Merz doesn't intend to outlaw, as he said. As in the Bundestag, he narrowly avoided quoting a Merkel phrase, again with an encouraging sentiment: "Can we roll up our sleeves together in this country and say, let's tackle this now and make it happen. I believe that's possible."
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Illner started by questioning if the new government argued like the old one and read out an impressive list of current reports where there is little to no agreement between the SPD and the Union on issues such as Taurus, supply chain law, defense spending, and more.
Merz listened with an amused, detached expression and said, "We are two different parties and we haven't left our differences at the coat check." And: "That at the beginning of a government, one or the other point is set that is more important to oneself than to the coalition partner, that's normal." Whether he will remain so cool if things carry on like this remains to be seen.
What About Sanctions?
The moderator repeatedly put her finger on open wounds - which led to some disappointment in what was actually a first success for Merz: The joint trip to Kyiv with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
The four had threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with new sanctions if he did not agree to a 30-day ceasefire. During these 30 days, talks were to take place to extend the ceasefire as much as possible. As we all know, it didn't turn out that way. Putin offered talks instead, in Istanbul on Thursday evening - but without a ceasefire.
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The threat of sanctions was also extended. As Merz now said, these have been determined and are to come into effect next Tuesday in Brussels. However, what comes into effect next Tuesday are not extra-powerful special sanctions from Germany, France, Britain, and Poland - but merely the 17th sanctions package of the EU, which has long been in the works. Macron, for example, had still spoken of "massive sanctions" that would be coordinated between Europeans and Americans.
Merz made a point in response to criticisms of a rocky start: "Now let someone say that we haven't made enough diplomatic efforts in the last few days to end this war." Many demand that diplomacy be tried, with Selenskyj showing "enormous willingness to compromise." "Who puts themselves in the wrong by not appearing is Putin," said Merz. In fact, hardly anyone believes that Putin genuinely wants peace. This was also revealed by the trip to Kyiv. Merz said that only military exhaustion would likely bring peace.
Hair-splitting Skills
Even on other topics, it became clear that not everything can happen immediately. On migration, Merz danced around the legal difficulties of deportations. Must a state of emergency be declared to reject asylum seekers? And is it wise to grumble the Poles by sending people back to them? Merz demonstrated his hair-splitting skills here: no one who has entered Germany will be sent back, he said. Simply, no one will be let in. That's the difference. Whether Tusk sees things the same way?
Economy
When it came to the economy, the economist Jens Südekum was brought in. He called for the planned super-depreciations for corporations to come quickly. Merz said they should be possible this year. He spent more time on the contributions for pensions, care, and unemployment, which burden smaller and medium incomes much more than taxes. Corrections must be made to keep the social security systems affordable and effective. He hasn't found an answer yet, he said, but it's also a question that seems impossible to solve. One step would be the children's savings plan that his government wants to introduce.
Climate Protection
As in the government declaration, climate protection only played a role at the end. Merz said that if he had gone by the polls, he wouldn't have been allowed to discuss it in the Bundestag. People had turned away from it because the Greens had "over-preached" the issue and made climate protection with a wagging finger. He didn't offer much in response, just the buzzwords of technology openness and the rising CO2 price. Which is a bit thin, as Germany is still not truly on track to be really climate-neutral by 2045.
Merz benefited from being the only one in the studio and could devote himself to the questions at his leisure. He had a good night, also for himself. He came across less as a miracle healer and more as someone seeking to comprehend the problems and find workable solutions. He seemed relatively approachable, like the neighborly federal chancellor next door. That could earn him bonus points. Because besides the numerous problems and crises that Merz as chancellor has to manage, he has a second side mission: to increase his own popularity. And there's still quite a bit of room for improvement there.
The Commission, unrelated to the domestic politics discussed, has also been asked to submit a proposal for a directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to ionizing radiation. In the realm of general news, this proposed directive serves as an example of the broader regulatory efforts aimed at ensuring worker safety, complementing the measures championed by Chancellor Merz in his government declaration.
