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[โ€“] DandomRude@lemmy.world 23 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

Very reasonable, but unfortunately not feasible with the chancellor of my home country, Germany. Friedrich Merz is nothing but a US lobbyist and definitely not a representative of the people. How can we get rid of corrupt politicians like that? I fear that things will even get much worse in Germany soon, because the fascist AfD, which in my opinion is nothing more than a front for US billionaires, will probably be the strongest force in our country, since the same social media platforms are at work here as in the US - with the same owners. But first, here is an excerpt from the CV of the current German chancellor, which should illustrate what I mean:

Friedrich Merz (born November 11, 1955, in Brilon), tenth Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany since May 6, 2025, CDU federal chairman since 2022, former business lawyer and long-time top lobbyist, has held leadership positions in a number of companies and business-related interest groups and networks. [1] Until the end of 2021, Merz was vice president of the CDU's business lobby group, the Economic Council, and a guest member of the presidium of the Small and Medium-Sized Business and Economic Union (MIT). In 2022, the MIT welcomed Merz's election as CDU chairman and stated that he was the first chairman to be a member of the MIT.[4] Armin Peter, most recently deputy press spokesman for the Economic Council and press spokesman for the then Economic Council Vice President Merz, has been deputy spokesman for the CDU and personal press spokesman for Merz since February 2022.[5] [6] Merz continues to be a member of the following organizations: Founding member of the New York section of the CDU Economic Council,[7] lobby organization Society for the Study of Structural Policy Issues,[8] Ludwig Erhard Foundation network, which brings together lobbyists and top politicians. Merz worked as senior counsel for the law firm Mayer Brown LLP until the end of 2021; prior to that, he was a partner for nine years.[9] During his time at Mayer Brown, he advised clients on corporate law, M&A transactions, compliance, and banking and finance law. According to research by CORRECTIV, he represented BASF as a lawyer on several occasions in 2010 and 2011. [10] He was a member of the board of directors at BASF Antwerp for almost a decade, where he headed the "Paints & Pigments" division of the BASF Group. From 2009 to 2019, Merz was chairman of Atlantik-Brรผcke [11] and from 2016 to 2020, he was chairman of the supervisory board of the German branch of asset manager BlackRock, for which he mediated relationships with important clients, authorities, and government agencies in Germany. [12] He was active in the Market Economy Foundation as a member of the Political Advisory Board of the Tax Code Commission. [13] In connection with his candidacy for the CDU party chairmanship, Merz ended his role as chairman of the supervisory board of Blackrock at the end of the first quarter of 2020.[14][15] At the 2021 CDU party conference, he lost a digital runoff election to his rival Armin Laschet. At the party conference on January 22, 2022, he was elected chairman of the CDU with 94.62% of the delegates' votes. [16] On September 23, 2024, Merz was officially nominated as the CDU and CSU's candidate for chancellor in the next federal election. [17]

[Translated from German | Source with source references]

[โ€“] nlgranger@lemmy.world 13 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The situation is pretty much identical in France. It should be noted that European Union was pretty much designed by the USA so its propensity to favor US positions and to fail to unite and thrive is by design.

[โ€“] DandomRude@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

Yes, I agree, but I currently see limited hope of reopening the issue in our interest. For the situation in Germany, however, there is actually a chance: the party name AfD illustrates that, it stands for Alternative for Germany. The main reason why people vote for this Neonazi party is this: they present themselves as an alternative to the corrupt, established parties, and they sell themselves well with the support of billionaires (Zuckerberg, Musk, an the like). Although this is just a facade for even more neoliberal, even more US-centric politics, the core of their success could be utilized: people long for different politics. This is where a European party could come in, a party that represents the interests of Europeans and their values - for example no more support for genocide in Palestin. This is, of course, just an example, and I am aware that there are already European parties, but I think they could actually be the alternative to US lobby politics that people apparently want, a real alternative to the usual nationalist politics that bring us nothing but lobbying and dependence on supposed but unscrupulous allies.

[โ€“] nlgranger@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Interesting. I don't know German politics and parties well. Here in France the far right has abandoned anti-eu positions much like Meloni in Italy. They try to appeal simultaneously to the french who are against EU (due to its weaknesses, corruption and anti democratic nature), and to the business and finance which is pro EU. It is contradictory but they act in favor of the latter and build the opposite image with the help of billionaire owned media.

[โ€“] mudkip 2 points 2 days ago

Here's the Grokipedia article:

Friedrich Merz (born 11 November 1955) is a German lawyer and politician serving as Chancellor of Germany since 6 May 2025 and chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since January 2022.[1][2][3] Born in Brilon, North Rhine-Westphalia, to a family with judicial and political ties, Merz studied law at the universities of Bonn and Saarland, qualifying as a judge before entering private practice as an attorney specializing in corporate and mergers-and-acquisitions matters.[1][2] His professional career included senior roles at the international law firm Mayer Brown and chairmanship of the supervisory board at BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG, positions that underscored his expertise in finance and business regulation.[4][2] Merz joined the CDU as a teenager in 1972 and advanced through its ranks, serving as a Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1994 and representing the Hochsauerlandkreis district in the Bundestag from 1994 to 2009, during which he led the CDU/CSU parliamentary group from 2000 to 2002.[1][2] After departing electoral politics in 2009 to focus on corporate leadership, he re-entered in 2018, securing a Bundestag seat in 2021 and assuming CDU chairmanship amid the party's post-election introspection, positioning it as a proponent of market-oriented reforms and transatlantic security cooperation.[3][2] Leading the CDU/CSU to a plurality in the 23 February 2025 snap federal election following the collapse of the prior coalition, Merz negotiated a governing alliance and was elected chancellor in a second parliamentary ballot on 6 May 2025โ€”the first such instance in postwar German history after an initial failure to secure an absolute majority.[3][5][6] Merz's tenure has emphasized fiscal discipline, bolstering NATO commitments, and addressing migration pressures through stricter enforcement, reflecting his long-standing conservative stance on economic competitiveness and rule-of-law priorities.[3][7]

Source: https://grokipedia.com/page/Friedrich_Merz