May 6, 2025, 6:46am
This year, a poster for Friedrich Merz’s election campaign in western Germany. Credit… Kirill Kudryavtsev/Agence France-Presse – Getty Images
Before he returned to politics, he became the first prime minister in modern German history to win national elections and fail to win jobs in his first vote in parliament, Friedrich Merz accepted an invitation to a gathering of French foreign corps in Corsica.
At the final moments, the organizers asked him to arrive on the parade ground by parachute, not on roads or rail. Merz, a corporate lawyer at the time, never jumped out of the plane. However, fellow attendees recalled that Merz had not hesitated recently. He jumped – normally, but with a slightly rough landing.
It is not yet clear what the long-term meaning of Merz’s more recent rough landings would be in the long-term sense of his bid to become Germany’s next prime minister.
After demanding a two-round vote in Parliament, he will become Germany’s next leader. But he is at a pivotal time for the economy, security and role of the country in Europe, and is swirling around him.
Not being able to secure enough votes to become prime minister on the first vote on Tuesday means he will need to narrow down lawmakers to tackle the crisis both at home and abroad, whilst slumping from far-right alternatives to Germany or AFD.
Merz is a product of Germany’s wealthy West Sauerland, the region that defines his politics and persona. During his campaign he ran with the slogan “More Sauerland for More Germany,” recalling the image of the region as the country’s centre.
Supporters call him an agile politician with the potential to carry out the big issues that bother the German people: growth, defense, immigration.
“I think he’s very well prepared, very deeply thoughtful and considerate,” said John P. Schmitz, assistant White House advisor under George H.W. Bush. Schmitz hired Merz to help work in the German office of Chicago law firm Meyer Brown, and ran out of a Corsica plane around 2005 with Merz.
But others say that Merz struggles to take one step ahead, leading him to break his promise.
His surrounding aspects of spending and migration alienate many of the conservative voters at his base. And Merz and his party have fallen into the first poll since the election, allowing the AFD to even attract them in some investigations. Even before Parliament stumbled on Tuesday, he had one of the approval rates of modern German leaders.
“There’s this old proverb: “No matter what you do, act wisely and consider the end,” said Ruprecht Polenz, former executive director of Merz’s party. “This way of thinking,” he added. “I don’t feel that it’s his main strength.”
Read more about Merz, his background, and his approach to politics in his profile.
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