Ahead of Germany’s Sunday elections, Friedrich Merz, the frontrunner for the center-right CDU/CSU, laid out his plans for restructuring the government if he leads it. With the CDU/CSU polling at 30%, well ahead of the anti-globalist AfD at 20%, Merz is likely to have to form a coalition with the leftist-globalist SPD, the Greens, or both, thanks to the “firewall” policy designed to keep the AfD out of power.
Merz has made it clear he wants to break up the “super ministry” that combines economy and climate responsibilities, a setup he believes was flawed from the start. He pointed to the 2023 debates over heat pumps, while Germany’s economy was in recession, as an example of the ministry’s failures. One of the most controversial aspects was the “heating law,” which sought to ban new gas and oil boilers, causing backlash and eventually contributing to the breakup of the government coalition.
Under a Merz-led government, responsibility for climate protection would likely return to the environment ministry, where it was previously housed. The CDU also wants to move labor issues back to the economy ministry, arguing that labor market policy should align with economic goals, not social policy, as the current government has done.
On European matters, Merz has pledged to strengthen the chancellery’s coordination to avoid embarrassing situations where Germany has to abstain from votes in Brussels due to internal disagreements. While the CSU has rejected partnering with the Greens, Merz hopes to play the SPD and Greens against each other to secure a coalition.
