Merkel called Merz a suitable candidate for the post of Chancellor of Germany

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday, December 23, that Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz is a suitable candidate for chancellor.

"I wish Friedrich Merz every success. He has worked a long time to achieve this goal of becoming a candidate for chancellor. And I wish him that he also has the strength to run a good election campaign," the former chancellor said on the Table.Media podcast.

According to her, economic issues are currently taking center stage. At the same time, she was critical of the categorical rejection of a possible coalition with the Greens, which was particularly advocated by the chairman of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU), Markus Söder.

Fiasco according to plan: Olaf Scholz's government faces a vote of no confidence

Germany faces snap elections to the Bundestag

On December 16, the Bundestag revoked confidence in the government of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In a vote on the request that the chancellor sent on December 11, less than a third of deputies voted in favor of Scholz. He then proposed to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to dissolve the Bundestag, which required the appointment of early elections.

Scholz announced plans to raise the issue of a vote of confidence in the government in the Bundestag in early November. Steinmeier then endorsed February 23, 2025, as a possible date for early parliamentary elections. The leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) unanimously nominated Scholz. German political scientist Eugenia Pimenova estimates that Merz is the most likely contender to succeed him.