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Europe
Germany's Merz elected chancellor after surprise setback
2025-05-07
[GEO.TV] Germany's conservative leader Friedrich Merz won on Tuesday a nail-biter second vote in parliament to become chancellor after he lost the first round in a stunning early setback.

Merz, 69, scored an absolute majority of 325 against 289 in the secret vote in the lower house of parliament.

He takes over at the helm of a coalition between his CDU/CSU alliance and the centre-left Social Democrats
...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy, white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects...
 (SPD) of the outgoing chancellor, Olaf Scholz.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was set to appoint him as post-war Germany's 10th chancellor later Tuesday, along with his cabinet, before Merz is due to visit Gay Paree and then Warsaw on Wednesday.

His victory caps a long ambition to lead Europe's biggest economy, which was first foiled decades ago by party rival Angela Merkel
...former chancellor of Germany and the impetus behind Germany's remarkably ill-starred immigration program. Merkel used to be referred to by Germans as Mom. Now they make faces at her for inundating the country with Moslem colonists...
 who went on to serve as chancellor for 16 years.

Merz's eventual victory on Tuesday was bittersweet as the initial defeat — the first such outcome in Germany's post-war history — pointed to rumblings of discontent within his uneasy coalition.
Related:
Friedrich Merz 05/06/2025 "Historic Shock": Germany's Merz Falls Short In Chancellor Vote Sparking Fresh Political Turmoil
Friedrich Merz 05/06/2025 AfD files lawsuit against German spy agency’s extremist classification
Friedrich Merz 04/29/2025 Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: April 28, 2025

Posted by:Fred

#11  " The new German Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt (CSU, my party) has just ordered to stop all illegal migrants at the border including those who ask for asylum."

Funny how that happens as the AfD has at least tied the CDU/CSU in approval ratings (some say the AfD has surpassed the CDU/CSU).

Yes, I'm glad the closed the borders to illegals/asylum seekers, but the motives are suspect.

BTW, doesn't Friedrich Merz kind of remind one of Geo. H. W. Bush with his "read my lips" boast?
Posted by: DooDahMan   2025-05-07 23:13  

#10  The asylum move by the interior minister looks like "maximal confrontation" strategy that would end the coalition soon.

However Merz seems to be backpedaling already:

"Merz in Warsaw: Called my new Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and asked him to seek an exchange with our European neighbors. Migration is not a national problem, but a common European one."

Either this is pre-planned failure theater or there will be some interesting developments very, very soon.

The vaunted "European Solution" to the asylum conundrum is very simple actually.

If Germany were to suggest an abolition of all asylum laws and treaties Europe wide, Europe would would breathe a sigh of relief.

Generic blanket asylum is the construct that gave the world Lenin and Khomeini. It is an amoral, if not immoral concept.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660   2025-05-07 18:59  

#9  Nominate swksvolFF @#7 for SotD. (IYKYK)
Posted by: Nero   2025-05-07 17:38  

#8  @tw
Inofficially we're getting positive responses from other European nations. Officially they might be protesting, but they now are free to do the same thing. If migrants can't get to Germany anymore, they will think twice before setting out and getting up stranded in some Greek or Italian camps.
Posted by: European Conservative   2025-05-07 17:16  

#7  ..And Merz is an honorable man.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2025-05-07 13:09  

#6  I have no idea if prayers work, European Conservative, but I’m praying hard that Germany wins this one.
Posted by: trailing wife   2025-05-07 12:18  

#5  The new German Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt (CSU, my party) has just ordered to stop all illegal migrants at the border including those who ask for asylum.

Let's see how this works out. Trump already knows that the courts will interfere.
Posted by: European Conservative   2025-05-07 11:28  

#4  ^Merz is a man of his word!!!!
Posted by: Grom the Affective   2025-05-07 04:18  

#3  @2
In March he did promise to defy the ICC arrest warrant.

In a tv interview yesterday he was asked directly if his promise still stands and answered evasively.

Since he made the initial promise after the election I suspect he had to make additional concessions to the leftists (Social Democrats, Greens, Communist Party of East Germany) to secure his election to the office of chancellor, one of these concessions being a tough stance on Israel.

"Likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he will find "ways and means" for Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Germany. Israel's Prime Minister is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity."
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660   2025-05-07 03:39  

#2  I don’t recall — did he ever promise that PM Netanyahu would be guaranteed protection from ICC or Interpol arrest while in Germany? Because if he did not, his invitation to Bibi is a threat.
Posted by: trailing wife   2025-05-07 00:53  

#1  As a chancellor he cannot realistically be removed from office before the end of the electoral term.

If he's smart he will seek maximal confrontation woth the social democrats and end the coalition soon, forming a minority government.

He isn't smart though,

After the election in February Merz announced he would invite Netanyahu to Germany in spite of the ICC.

In an interview yesterday he was asked explictly if the invitation stands. He avoided answering the question directly, instead he declared that "we have the greatest concern about Israel."

He a man who will sometimes say the right thing, but who will also spinelessly renege in the face of even the slightest criticism from the left.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660   2025-05-07 00:25  

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