[News Figures] EU Also Faces Political Turmoil... Next German and French Prime Ministers

Germany and France, the first and second largest economies in the European Union (EU), are experiencing political turmoil. Following French Prime Minister Michel Barnier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also been ousted through a vote of no confidence and will step down from his position. Some fear that with the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in January next year, the entire EU, facing security and economic challenges, could be plunged into crisis due to a leadership vacuum.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was voted out in a confidence vote in the Bundestag. As a result, the next general election will be held five months earlier, in February next year. Earlier, French Prime Minister Michel Barnier was also ousted by a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly. This is the first time in 62 years since the Georges Pompidou government in October 1962 that a French prime minister has resigned due to a parliamentary no-confidence vote.

Friedrich Merz, Leader of the German CDU [Photo by Merz, X (Twitter)]

Friedrich Merz (69), leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), is the frontrunner to become Germany’s next chancellor. In a poll released on the 14th, the CDU-Christian Social Union (CSU) alliance had a support rate of 32%, overwhelmingly higher than other parties, which had support rates in the 10% range.

Merz is known as a long-time 'rival' of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, who led the government for 16 years until 2021. Merz entered politics in 1989 when he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament. In 2000, he became the CDU parliamentary leader. Later that year, he lost a power struggle to Merkel, who became party leader, and left politics in 2009. Leveraging his legal background, Merz worked at Mayer Brown, a U.S.-based global law firm. In 2016, he became head of BlackRock’s German branch, the world’s largest asset management company, amassing considerable wealth. Merz returned to politics ahead of the 2018 CDU party convention and solidified his position within the party, becoming leader in 2022.

Merz describes himself as a social conservative and economic liberal. He holds a negative stance toward immigrants and refugees. He also seeks to abolish the citizen’s allowance, which was introduced to replace unemployment benefits and is effectively a form of basic income. Regarding the Ukrainian government fighting Russia, Merz advocates for increased support. Germany’s military aid to Ukraine is the second largest after the United States. On the 9th, Merz met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and announced Germany’s provision of Taurus long-range missiles.

S?bastien Lecornu, Minister of Defense (38, Renaissance), is mentioned as a candidate for the next French prime minister. Lecornu is one of President Macron’s supporters. The Democratic Movement party led by Fran?ois Bayrou is part of Macron’s 'ruling coalition.' Other names mentioned include Fran?ois Bayrou, leader of the Democratic Movement (73), former Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve (61, Socialist Party), former Labor Minister Xavier Bertrand (59, Republicans), and Fran?ois Baroin, mayor of Troyes (59, Republicans).