From Critic to Implementer: How Friedrich Merz is Quietly Adopting โRobert โขhabeck’s policies
Berlin – Justโ eleven months ago,Friedrich Merz,now Chancellor ofโ Germany,relentlessly attacked then-economicsโค Minister โRobert Habeck,branding him “the face of the economic crisis” and dismissingโข his policies as a “complete disaster.” Today, โขa strikingโค reversal isโ underway. Merz’s governing coalition – a partnership between the Union and SPD โค- isโ rapidly adopting keyโฃ proposals โค originally championed by Habeck, โnow a professor inโข the United States.
The โคshift is becoming increasingly apparent. This week alone, the coalition committee reached agreements on an industrial electricity price and a “Germany Fund”โฃ – initiatives firstโ outlinedโ in working papers presented by Habeck as far โbackโ as May 2023 andโข last โฃfall, respectively. Bothโ were initially met with staunch opposition from Merz and the CDU.
“this strengthens our industrial location in international competitionโ andโ secures good jobs,” Merz declared on X (formerly Twitter) regarding โฃthe industrial electricity price, a proposal heโ previously insisted should only be considered after important reductions in government-imposedโข costs on energy.
The about-face โคextends beyond โคenergy policy. Merz’s government is now pursuing the construction of gas power plantsโค and the โimplementation of CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) technology – both concepts โHabeck advocated for, despiteโ initial resistance fromโค the Union. Even the suspension of the debtโ brake for defense spending, a move Merz’s party now supports, was initially proposed by Habeck.
Greenโ Criticism, Familiar โTune
The irony hasn’t escaped the Green Party. Franziska Brantner, the party’s current leader, offered a pointed critiqueโฃ of the Chancellor’s selective adoption of Green policies.
“Mr. Merz is โright to introduce the industrial electricity โฃprice – โbut unfortunately does not โreduce the โคelectricity tax for everyone,” Brantner told Tagesspiegel. “He is right to investโข in the municipalโ energy infrastructure with the Germany Fund, but unfortunately โhe squanders almostโ half of theโฃ special fund on election โขgifts.”
Brantner added with a touch of wryness: “If Mr. Merz is inspired by green economic policy,he should not forget โขthe market economy aspects.”
A โPattern of Adoption
This isn’tโ an isolated incident. Throughout the past two years, Merz has demonstrably shifted his position โฃon several key policies initially proposed โฃby Habeck, often after publicly criticizingโฃ them.โฃ Theโค question now is whether this represents a genuine evolutionโ in โคMerz’s โeconomic thinking, or simply a pragmatic embrace of effective โฃsolutions, irrespective โofโ their origin.
The political landscape has undeniably โขchanged. But as Merz’s government increasingly implements โthe policies he once โคderided, the narrative is shifting,โข and
