As Germany prepares for a snap election on February 23, the battle lines are being drawn and the gloves are coming off. Leading the charge is Friedrich Merz, the conservative frontrunner aiming to unseat Chancellor Olaf Scholz and bring his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) back to power after three years in opposition. But even as he pledges to restore political stability and end the infighting that has plagued the country, Merz is launching blistering attacks on his most likely coalition partners, the Greens.
Merz Pledges Unity, Blasts Greens
At the unveiling of his party’s election manifesto, Merz struck a confident tone, declaring that the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, were “in a position to take back responsibility in government” after Angela Merkel’s departure in 2021. He vowed to lead a government “without fighting,” one that would be “reliable, predictable and calculable” – a clear swipe at the discord and U-turns that have marred Scholz’s tenure.
But even as he extended an olive branch, Merz was sharpening his knives for the Greens, who are shaping up to be his main rivals and reluctant bedfellows in any future coalition. Merz accused the environmentalist party of “tacking hard to the left” with “high taxes, high debt and high redistribution.” He slammed Green proposals like a billionaires’ tax as “preachy” and denounced their stances on speed limits and phasing out fossil fuels.
Greens Urge Unity, Decry ‘Toxic’ Tone
The Greens’ chancellor candidate, Robert Habeck, fired back by warning of the “toxic tone” infecting German politics and urging all parties to overcome their “self-importance” for the good of the country. “Whoever wants to lead a government has to be able to bring varying interests together,” he chided, in an apparent jab at Merz’s divisive rhetoric.
Habeck’s plea for unity may fall on deaf ears in an increasingly polarized landscape. According to a close source, Merz and Scholz traded barbs during a heated parliamentary debate, with Scholz branding his rival “Fritze” (a derogatory nickname) and an “embarrassment” on the European stage. Merz hit back, vowing not to “abide” such “personal attacks” from the chancellor he aims to dethrone.
Coalition Calculations
Despite the acrimony, Merz and the Greens may have no choice but to work together if the electoral math demands it. Polls show the CDU/CSU in the lead with around 33% support, far ahead of Scholz’s slumping Social Democrats (SPD) at 16%. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is nipping at the conservatives’ heels with 18%, but is treated as a pariah by all mainstream parties.
That leaves the Greens, currently polling around 13%, as the most plausible partner for Merz – a reality he acknowledges even as he assails their policies. “The Greens appear to be distancing themselves from any possibility of cooperation that they might have had on a few issues,” he lamented, while still professing to keep his options open.
Fragmented Field
The Greens aren’t the only ones feeling the heat from Merz and his allies. The pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and the upstart Bavaria-only party, the Bund Souveräner Wähler (BSW), are teetering on the 5% threshold needed to enter parliament. Both could play kingmaker roles in a tight race, but have also faced broadsides from the CDU/CSU.
CSU leader Markus Söder, Merz’s partner atop the conservative ticket, has been especially scathing towards the Greens, at one point vowing to veto any coalition with them. While he’s since softened that stance, Söder still denounces what he sees as their over-reaching policies on taxes, speed limits and energy. For the Bavarian firebrand, the Greens’ vision is simply incompatible with the “right way” forward for Germany.
High Stakes, Hard Choices
As the campaign kicks into high gear, Merz and his rivals face a daunting balancing act: rallying their bases, distinguishing their platforms, yet keeping lines of communication open for the coalition haggling to come. With the specter of the AfD looming larger than ever, the mainstream parties are under immense pressure to stabilize a rocky political scene.
For Merz, the challenge is to convince voters he can be a unifying figure while still throwing red meat to his conservative base. He’s betting that his cocktail of tax cuts, migration controls and muscular Ukraine policy can carry the day, papering over any divisions with future partners like the Greens. It’s a high-risk, high-reward strategy in a splintered landscape.
The 2024 election will not just determine who governs Germany, but whether its leaders can bridge the widening chasms in its politics and society. The tone and tenor set in the coming weeks may well echo long after the votes are counted.
– A veteran political observer in Berlin
As Merz and his competitors crisscross the country in a compressed campaign season, they face a weary and wary electorate, ground down by crisis and yearning for stability. Whether any of them can deliver it, alone or together, may be the defining question of this election, with implications rippling far beyond Germany’s borders. For now, all that’s certain is that the gloves are off and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
