BERLIN: Germany’s incoming conservative leader Friedrich Merz pledged a spirited defense of Ukraine and of democratic values Monday as he named his new cabinet, less than a week before he is set to take power in Europe’s top economy.
European unity is “under threat” from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the rise of the far right at home, said Merz as he appointed a strong supporter of Kyiv, foreign policy expert and ex-soldier Johann Wadephul, as his new foreign minister.
Speaking at a CDU party meeting in Berlin that signed off on the coalition contract with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), Merz said Germany was ready to “once again assume leadership responsibility” in the European Union.
Merz — who is set to take office on May 6, ending half a year of political paralysis in Berlin — said the more than three-year-old war in Ukraine “is directed against the entire political order of the European continent.”
“There must be no doubt where we stand: namely, without any ifs or buts, on the side of this attacked country and thus on the side of all people in Europe who are committed to democracy and the rule of law, who are committed to freedom and an open society.”
Pointing to the return of US President Donald Trump, but without naming him, Merz said that “we have come to realize that we can no longer be sure of the transatlantic relationship in the spirit of freedom and the rules-based order.”
Merz’s CDU/CSU alliance has sealed a coalition deal with the SPD of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz after winning a February 23 election in which the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) took second place.
Wadephul is expected to play a key role in a new national security council, together with the current and likely future defense minister, Boris Pistorius of the SPD, to push Berlin’s interests in the EU and on the international stage.
A spending “bazooka” worth many hundreds of billions of euros was passed by the outgoing parliament to build up the armed forces as well as Germany’s infrastructure and boost the economy, which has shrunk for the past two years in a row.
'Trust in our democracy'
Merz acknowledged there had been little excitement so far greeting the coming change at the top, adding that “this is not the time for euphoria. The pillars we have relied on over the past years and decades are faltering around us.”
“Trust in our democracy is damaged like never before in our country’s post-war history,” he said.
“(Europe) is under threat from outside by an imperialistic, authoritarian war to the east and also from frightened, insecure and even radicalized citizens within its borders.”
“We are also directly threatened by this war and by Russia,” he added, pointing to acts of sabotage and interference blamed on Russia, including “the systematic disinformation of our population.”
Germany’s election saw a surge in support for the far-right and Moscow-friendly AfD, which finished in second place with more than 20 percent of the vote.
Merz said his goal remained to once more make the AfD “a marginal phenomenon,” including by cracking down on irregular immigration and eliminating the “pull factors that still exist in Germany.”
But he warned that unless the government meets the demands of most voters, Germany could end up in a situation where “we are perhaps at some point no longer able to govern.”
Merz has appointed Alexander Dobrindt, 54, parliamentary leader of the Bavarian CSU, as the new interior minister, in charge of immigration and border control.
The post of economy and energy minister will go to the CDU’s Katherina Reiche, 51, who has recently been working as an executive in the energy sector.
Karsten Wildberger, chief executive of the group which owns German electronics retailers Saturn and Mediamarkt, will lead a new ministry for digitalization and modernization.