Joachim-Friedrich Martin Josef "Friedrich" Merz (German:; born 11 November 1955) is a German politician [1] [2] who has served as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 31 January 2022 and led the CDU/CSU (Union) parliamentary group as well as been Leader of the Opposition in the Bundestag since 15 February 2022.

14 hours ago · Friedrich Merz’s high-stakes gamble to enlist the far right in pressuring the German government to tighten migration laws has upended the campaign three weeks before general elections.

9 hours ago · Germany’s center-left governing parties have cast doubt on whether conservative leader Friedrich Merz can still be trusted not to bring the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, into government after Wednesday’s events. He insists that he didn’t and won’t work with it, and that he didn’t break a political consensus, often called ...

Dec 18, 2024 · Who Is Friedrich Merz, a Leading Candidate to Be Germany’s Next Chancellor? If polls are correct, Olaf Scholz’s successor could be the 69-year-old leader of the Christian Democratic Union.

3 days ago · “Friedrich Merz is willing to make common cause with the AfD,” Lars Klingbeil, the co-leader of Mr. Scholz’ Social Democratic party, told the Rheinische Post, a regional daily newspaper ...

Dec 11, 2024 · A protege of Wolfgang Schaeuble, finance minister and icon of fiscal conservatism, Merz rose to CDU parliamentary leader in the 2000s, before becoming one of several powerful men...

Sep 17, 2024 · BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s opposition center-right Christian Democratic Union announced Tuesday that it has chosen its leader, Friedrich Merz, to be its candidate for chancellor in next year’s national election. The decision sets the stage for a possible challenge of Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the federal election scheduled for September 2025.

Nov 15, 2024 · When Friedrich Merz suddenly re-entered politics after a near 10-year absence, some described it as the Second Coming. Others said it was the return of the undead. However you describe it,...

As the leader of the center-right Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) and the conservative parliamentary group that includes Bavaria's Christian Social...

Sep 17, 2024 · Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Christian Democrat Union (CDU), announced Tuesday that he will run as the conservative candidate for chancellor in Germany’s next federal election.