Pictured: German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right) and Jens Spahn (left), a top contender for succeeding Merkel as leader of the CDU party. (Photo by Volker Hartmann/Getty Images)
by Soeren Kern • February 19, 2018 at 5:00 am
- “What is clear at any rate: the financing [of imams] by foreign actors must stop.” — Jens Spahn, Deutsche Welle.
- “The message that ‘If you reach a Greek island, you will be in Germany in six days,’ not only encourages refugees from Syria, but also many people in Bangladesh and India. No country in the world, and no European Union, can withstand that if we give up control of our external borders.” — Jens Spahn, Die Zeit.
- “To anyone who makes their way to Germany, it must made be clear that their life here will be very different from that at home. They should think carefully about whether they really want to live in this western culture.” — Die Welt.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has sparked a mutiny from within her own party over a controversial coalition deal that allows her to remain in office for a fourth term. The deal, in which Merkel agreed to relinquish control over the most influential government ministries, has led a growing number of voices from within her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to say — publicly — that it is time to begin looking for her successor.
In a prime-time interview with ZDF television on February 11, Merkel, already in power for 12 years, rejected the criticism and insisted that she will serve another full four-year term. “I ran for a four-year term,” she said. “I promised those four years and I’m someone who keeps promises. I totally stand behind that decision.”
Merkel, who has been called the “Teflon Chancellor” because of her political staying power, may indeed manage to eke out another four years in office, albeit in a much-weakened position. Her decision in 2015 to allow into Germany more than a million migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East sparked a mass defection of angry CDU voters to the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), now the third-largest party in the German parliament. As a result, in Germany’s inconclusive election in September 2017, Merkel’s party achieved its worst electoral result in nearly 70 years.
The coalition deal, reached on February 7 between her center-right CDU, their Bavarian partners, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), must still be formally ratified by the SPD’s 460,000 rank and file members in a postal vote that begins on February 20. The outcome of that vote will be announced on March 4.
If the coalition agreement is not approved, Merkel may attempt to form a minority government, or German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier may call fresh elections. Either way, Merkel likely will face growing pressure to step aside.
A poll published by Focus on February 17 found that German voters are increasingly growing weary of Merkel. Nearly half (47.2%) of the respondents said that Merkel should step aside during the next legislative period; 38.5% said Merkel should to complete the full term.
The jockeying to succeed Merkel has intensified in recent days. At least half-a-dozen people are said to be in the running to assume leadership of the CDU if Merkel steps down.
A top contender, according to German political commentators, is Jens Spahn, a 37-year-old openly homosexual Roman Catholic with a reputation for straight talk. One of the rising stars of CDU’s younger generation, he is viewed by many as a possible future chancellor.
Spahn, who hails from Ahaus, a small town near the German-Dutch border, was elected to parliament at the age of 22, before he was graduated from university. As deputy finance minister since 2015, he has been a vocal critic of Germany’s healthcare and pension systems because of the massive financial burden they impose on future generations.
Spahn, a politically incorrect “liberal-conservative,” appears determined to reverse some of the CDU’s leftwards ideological drift, which occurred under Merkel’s leadership. He has accused the CDU of being “too accommodating of a liberal elite that has become convinced of its own moral superiority.” He has also said that he wants to win back disgruntled CDU voters who defected to the AfD.
Merkel may try to thwart Spahn’s ambitions in retaliation for his public criticism of her policies. Spahn does not, however, appear easily intimidated.