Exactly six months after that of Olaf Scholz Three -part coalition impliedFriedrich Merz, a conservative Christian Democrat, will be sworn in on Tuesday as the next Chancellor of Germany.
The sworn comes after less than two months of negotiation between the Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, which was the first to arrive with 28.5 percent of the votes, and the sitting Social Democrats, known as SPD, which came in third place with only 16.5 percent.
Mr. Merz, 69, who took a decade long break from politics after he had been taken over for Angela Merkel, has never held a government office. A talented and fascinating speaker, he made his ambition clear to bring Germany back to a leading role in Europe.
What challenges is the new government confronted with?
Germany is probably at the most dangerous moment since the reunification 35 years ago.
Even before President Trump announced, Germany Economy was in a malaise. China, once a thriving market for export, has lost its taste for German luxury cars and other German exports. Due to the sanctions on Russian gas, energy is expensive. And the labor costs are higher than average, while the public infrastructure is failing.
Germany also seems to run the risk of losing the American security guarantees that, before Russia, the full invasion of Ukraine on a full scale, it allowed relatively little to invest in the defense.
In addition, the extreme right-wing AfD, which the German domestic intelligence service Labeld “Extremist” Last week it applies to the polls and running neck and neck with Mr. Merz’s CDU
Who will help Merz run the country?
Some choices for Mr. Merz’s cabinet have surprised political viewers.
Mr. Merz has several people from the private sector, an extremely rare decision for the federal government of Germany. Most people for the job of Minister have been politics at a high level for years.
Karsten Wildberger led this year, for example, MediaMarktsaturn, the largest electronics retailer in Germany. Now he will try to help Germany to move the 21st century to the Minister of Digitization and Modernization.
Katherina Reiche, who will be the first woman to lead the Ministry of Economics, led a large regional electricity provider.
Both reportedly took large wage reductions to run their ministries.
Mr. Merz mentioned only seven of the 17 ministers who are sworn in among him. A Bavarian Sister Party, the Christian Social Union, mentioned three, and the SPD mentioned seven.
Boris Pistorius, the very popular Minister of Social Democratic Defense, will remain in his position, which is also rare in German politics. Lars Klingbeil, the head of the Social -Democrats, will be given the position of Vice Chancellor and Minister of Finance.
But the SPD has also bet on a number of younger, lesser -known politicians to fill their ministries.
Verena Hubertz, who is 37 and co-founder of kitchen stories, a cooking platform, will lead the Ministry of Housing.
Your Jun, professor in political sciences and an enthusiastic viewer of Berlin politics, said that although some of the parties of the parties were unorthodox, both tried to realize the promise of political change.
“The parties want to present new faces, and that ultimately led to one or two surprises in the selection,” he said, “but they also have one thing in common: loyalty to their respective party leaders.”
Two of the ministers, Karin Prien and Reem Alabali-Radovan, were not born in Germany, which is unusual in German politics. Moreover, Mrs. Prien, who belongs to the progressive wing of the CDU and who will supervise education, Jewish – is another first in post -war Germany. Some of her ancestors fled the Nazis by moving to the Netherlands in the 1930s.
How does cursing work?
Swelling in a Chancellor in Germany is a parliamentary procedure that is associated with much less splendor – but much more residential traffic – than his American equivalent.
Firstly, Mr. Merz must be chosen by parliament with 630 seats. The coalition has 360 of those seats. It is not a large majority, but because there is no reason for someone to deviate from festive lines, he is expected to win the simple majority needed in the first round.
Mr. Merz will then be driven a mile over the Tiergarten to the presidential home, Schloss Bellevue, where President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will hand him his nomination document. Then he will go back to be sworn in by the president of the newly formed parliament.
That procedure is repeated when Mr. Merz officially announces his cabinet. All 17 ministers will travel to the president for their papers before they return to be sworn in in parliament.
How likely is this government to come along?
The opportunities are better this time.
Mr. Scholz had to argue three very different parties during his term of office. And two of them, the Greens and the Liberal Free Democratic Party, had opposing ideas about a number of issues, the most important.
This coalition can be more likely for another reason: this time the members can feel that there is no other option.
With the AfD growth, an early election can bring more seats, making rule even more difficult. Whatever their differences on policy, none of the parties want that.
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