cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/8719705
Opinion | Germany Needs Something New. Instead It’s Getting This Guy.
Ok so hear me out: fuck the New York Times. I don’t even bother to read the article and I happen to think the CDU is a bunch of yahoos. But an …American newspaper, telling a European democracy what it does or what it doesn’t need? Get the fuck out of here.
Sure, the essayist is probably German and probably makes some good points. But, honestly fuck MAGA USA and their newspapers.
Signed, a dual EU/Canada citizen.
The NYT is hardly a “MAGA USA paper”. Which is not to say that they’ve found a good style to deal with Trump.
The current incarnation of the USA is not the usual USA, it’s MAGA USA, just like we characterize Fascist Italy, Peronist Argentina or Frankoist Spain. The NYT is in opposition but it’s still a newspaper from the MAGA USA.
Well, he actually is new to being part of a government…
I don’t understand this view of Merz. He seems like decent leader material for Germany, replacing Scholz at the right time.
I am not a conservative, yet I think Merz’s rhetoric so far is spot on when it comes to the current problems with our crumbling transatlantic alliance. His stance on the toxic US government is a welcome relief at a time when compassion, respect and critical thinking seem to be in short supply.
My hope is for a constructive outcome with him and Boris Pistorius in the same government.
This guy is a short-fused, greedy, power-hungry asshat with a long career as a lobbyist. A guy who made his campaign all about “criminal foreigners”. A guy who blocked new debt for the past two years, who campaigned on “no new state debt!!” until exactly the election day, Feb 23, and who’s now trying to get sign-off on €900bn of new debt. A guy who campaigned against heat pumps and climate legislation, but who it appears will only stop heat pump subsidies for households, but not remove the climate-friendly heating mandate, thus sticking it to the people, presumably to later blame it on the Greens. A guy who pro-forma distances himself from Trump or the Afd but who gives the Trumpists in his own party a platform and who copies many the far-right talking points and tactics.
He is trump lite. He is not at all „decent leader material“ by any stretch. His views align far too often with the far (not to say extreme) right wing party AFD.
Another similarity with Trump is that half of his own party tried their best to keep him from any positions of power for more than a decade because he is such a loose cannon with zero experience in governing anything. He has “good” industry connections though…
Are you sure? Doesn’t sound like that to me: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PRsF-yy6RGc (only German subtitles)
His views align far too often with the far (not to say extreme) right wing party AFD.
Can you please share some concrete examples to back that up?
He is and he has been for a long time. It’s not subtle. Presumably you’re not German?
https://taz.de/Totalausfall-von-Friedrich-Merz/!6071285/
https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/merz-kritik-100.html
https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/bundestagswahl/parteien/migration-pro-asyl-cdu-merz-habeck-102.html
https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/bundestagswahl/merz-linke-kritik-100.html
Presumably you’re not German?
That’s true. Thank you for this material for insight.
He doesn’t really have convictions. He says whatever he thinks will give him power at that moment.
