“The people love betrayal”
Merz expects the FDP to break the traffic light
March 24, 2024, 1:20 a.m
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The CDU leader is preparing for an early end to the federal government. For Merz it is clear that it will be the FDP that will herald the end of the traffic light. He suggests that September 22nd would be a suitable date for new elections. Then there will also be elections in Brandenburg.
In the event of an early end to the traffic light coalition, CDU leader Friedrich Merz has discussed September 22nd as a possible date for new elections: “If the federal government fails prematurely and there are actually new elections, September 22nd is the ideal date year,” Merz told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “The summer holidays would then be over everywhere, and with the state elections in Brandenburg, the day is already an election Sunday.”
When asked whether he currently expects the traffic light coalition to fail, Merz referred to the FDP: The Liberals know that if they stick to the coalition, they could leave parliament in the next federal election. In his opinion, the FDP will therefore not want to go into the election campaign as part of the traffic light. “The only question is when the liberals will leave and for what reason. The people love betrayal, but not the traitor,” said Merz.
Merz praised the Greens: “The Greens are able to accept realities very quickly, at least in foreign and security policy,” said the CDU leader. Freedom and peace are the prerequisite for everything else. “I have respect for the Greens on this point; they have gone through a deep change.” Merz emphasized that Robert Habeck was the first to talk about arms deliveries to Ukraine.
Involve prime ministers in the K question
With a view to the open question of the Union’s candidacy for chancellor, Merz approached the CDU prime ministers and promised them a say: “We will involve the CDU’s closer leadership, including the state chairmen.” In the end there will be a joint proposal from CSU boss Markus Söder and him.
Most recently, Berlin’s governing mayor Kai Wegner called for the prime ministers and CDU state chairmen to have a say in the selection of the Union’s candidate for chancellor in the fall. Unlike Merz, Wegner, along with several other prime ministers of CDU-governed states, spoke out in favor of easing the debt brake. In an interview with the “Tagesspiegel”, Wegner admitted that the CDU leader was the favorite on the K issue, but insisted on an “orderly procedure”.