Foreign News
Germany: Merz Chooses New Chief Of Staff Before Elections
Germany ‘s Chancellor Friedrich Merz named Health Minister Nina Warken as his new chief of staff on Friday, as part of a reshuffle intended to inject momentum into the government before state elections in September.
Merz also said more changes were to come. Two sources familiar with the matter said he was also set to replace his transport minister.
Warken will be the first woman to hold her new post, an important position that serves as a node between the chancellery, ministries and lawmakers at a time when Merz is pushing reforms to revive Europe’s largest economy.
Merz Under Pressure
The reset follows the abrupt resignation of conservative party heavyweight Jens Spahn as parliamentary faction chief, in a row over his decision to have a surrogate baby despite his party’s staunch opposition to surrogacy.
Merz is under pressure to deliver after a difficult first year in office. He trails in opinion polls to the far-right Alternative for Germany and faces the prospect of the AfD gaining power for the first time at state level in September.
Economic growth has struggled to revive, with Germany’s vaunted export-driven economy under threat from rising costs at home and competition abroad. Global tariff ructions and the energy shock from the Iran war are also hobbling growth.
“We are a reform-oriented government, and we intend to continue demonstrating that,” Merz told reporters in Berlin, promising to “hit the ground running” when parliament reconvenes after a summer recess.
Merz had picked Warken, 47, to oversee health reforms to rein in soaring healthcare costs, a job that will now fall to another party heavyweight, Carsten Linnemann.
Warken is “assertive and well-versed in security policy” and “a tough negotiator”, Merz said.
Merz is set to replace Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder amid frustration over the state of Germany’s rail network and crumbling infrastructure, two sources said, with train delays now a national topic of conversation.
Popularity At All-Time Low
The train drivers’ union cautioned against blaming the rail network’s problems on an individual, saying policy makers had for years failed to provide clear goals, binding mandates or consistent management.
“Germany does not need further political reshuffles, but rather determination, expertise, and reliability,” it said.
Merz’s outgoing chief of staff, Thorsten Frei, will succeed Spahn as head of the CDU/CSU faction in parliament.
Merz said he would make further changes to his cabinet but declined to give further details, adding that these would take more time.
Merz’s popularity is at an all-time low, according to a RTL/ntv Trendbarometer poll this week, with only 14% of respondents satisfied with his performance compared to 85% dissatisfied.
The AfD tops national polls at 26%, ahead of the conservatives at 22%, before elections in the eastern states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in September that the AfD hopes will help pave the way for national success.
(with inputs from Reuters)