Pro-Business Merkel Rival Jost to lead German conservatives
Pro-Business Merkel Rival Jost to lead German conservatives
BERLIN: A former Chancellor Angela Merkel's rival who seeks to replace her under Germany's conservative party said on Wednesday it would try to renew the party and establish close links with Western democracies, but would not push for a radical change in current policies.
Friedrich Merz, a corporate lawyer and former parliamentary leader of Mrs. Merkel's conservatives, said he could get along with the chancellor despite previous confrontations that led to his gradual departure from politics almost 10 years ago. A good working relationship with the chancellor would be crucial to ensure party support for the political agenda of the ruling coalition.
"We need an awakening and a renewal, but not a turnaround," Merz said at a press conference, without giving further details.
Mr. Merz is one of three candidates to succeed Mrs. Merkel, who this week said that she I would not seek reelection as head of the party and he would finish his fourth term as chancellor in 2021.
Mr. Merz, who represents the conservative wing of the Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, was a German lawmaker from 1994 to 2009, serving from 2000 to 2002 as leader of the parliamentary group of conservatives. She lost the position to Mrs. Merkel after she became president of the party.
Many political analysts say that the chancellor could not fulfill her mandate if she became president of the CDU in a vote of the party convention set for early December.
When asked about his previous differences more than a decade ago with Ms. Merkel, Mr. Merz said that sometimes political differences should result in separations, but that "I firmly believe that Angela Merkel and I will get along well in these changing conditions. "
A Merz leadership would highlight his pro market and low tax views that made him popular among companies. He works at the law firm Mayer Brown LLP, which advises leading German and international companies and serves as head of the supervisory board of the German unit of BlackRock Inc., asset manager.
The change of Merz from politics to business and vice versa would mark a rare move in Germany. But critics say his wealth and commercial ties could offer his opponents too much ammunition amid increased elite fervor.
On Wednesday, Merz said little about his economic policy objectives, except that he points to a prudent budget policy and to help boost Germans' share in the stock market.
On Europe, he said that French President Emmanuel Macron deserved a better response to his proposals for European reform, then given by Ms Merkel. "We must talk about the central issues of the future of the European Union," he said. "The biggest challenge is to keep the eurozone united. This will be Europe's biggest challenge in the coming years. "
Mr. Merz also pledged to recover the voters who have turned to the left and right margins. "We must not allow voters to join such populist movements and let themselves be seduced by frustration or disappointment with established parties," he said.
Mrs Merkel's decision to open the borders Hundreds of thousands of refugees in 2015 helped boost the rise of the right-wing alternative for Germany. Mr. Merz did not comment on his position on migrants.
The other two contenders for the helm of the match are Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, and Jens Spahn.
Ms. Kramp-Karrenbauer, former Saarland state premier and secretary general of the CDU, is well connected and popular within the party. Mr. Spahn, Germany's health minister, is a rising star in the party's conservative wing and was one of the first and most critical critics of Ms. Merkel's migration policy.
Write to Andrea Thomas in andrea.thomas@wsj.com
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