Germany updates: Merz names CDU Cabinet ministers

Germanyhas applied for the activation of a clause which would allow the country to use an exemption in European debt rules.

A letter issued to the Brussels authority by Germany's Federal Finance Minister Jörg Kukies says the country would like the clause to be applied from 2025 until 2028.

The move is intended to help Berlin in increasing its defense spending due to the war in Ukraine.

"In the coming years, the federal government will face the challenge of further strengthening its national and alliance defense capabilities and fulfilling its shared responsibility for security in Europe," the letter reads.

According to the European Commission, Germany is the first European Union (EU) country to activate this exemption.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called on his country's new government under incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz to strengthen its military for the benefit of all of Europe.

"I am convinced the most important task of the new German government is to strengthen our armed forces," Steinmeier said at a ceremony in Brussels celebrating the 70th anniversary of Germany's accession to NATO.

West Germany became the 15th member of the military alliance on May 6, 1955, just ten years after the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany at the end of the Second World War – a legacy which has influenced Berlin's approach to its military, the Bundeswehr, ever since.

"Today, a badly armed Germany is a greater threat to Europe than a strongly armed Germany," said Steinmeier. "I think virtually all of our allies have long subscribed to that statement but it is much harder to accept for us Germans."

But given the threat posed to NATO both by Russian aggression in eastern Europe and by US pressure on allies to increase spending internally, Steinmeier said: "Germany is being called on and we have heard the call, we have got the message, you can count on us."

Germany's Christian Democrats (CDU) have officially approved a coalition deal with the Social Democrats (SPD), clearing another
hurdle on the path to forming the next government.

As expected, a majority of delegates at a small party conference in Berlin voted in favour of the 144-page agreement, which is now awaiting the approval of the future junior coalition partner, the SPD.

Unlike the CDU, the SPD puts the vote on coalition agreements to its entire membership, all 358,000 of whom have until Tuesday evening to have their say.

Should they give the green light, parliament is expected to officially elect Friedrich Merz as German chancellor by May 6.

Friedrich Merz has said that he will not tolerate an "dictated peace" forced upon Ukraine to end its war against the Russian invasion, and insisted that Germany and Europe will continue to support Kyiv.

"Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression is also a fight to maintain peace and liberty in our country," he said, accusing Moscow of "attacking the political order of the European continent in its entirety."

Merz said that "neither a dictated peace nor a submission to militarily established facts are acceptable … and certainly not against the declared will of Ukraine itself."

After the brief face-to-face meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump at the Vatican on Saturday, Merz expressed home that the talks could "perhaps be the start of a serious peace process worthy of the name."

Nevertheless, he said Germany must continue to increase its defense capabilities and defend itself against Russian attempts at destabilization, especially because it is "unclear whether NATO will continue to exist in coming decades."

Incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday that Europe was under threat from Russian aggression abroad and from a declining trust in democracy at home.

"Confidence in democracy in our country has not been so shaken since the end of the Second World War," he said at a CDU party congress in Berlin, where delegates were expected to vote on a coalition agreement reached with the SPD.

Looking beyond Germany, Merz said Europe as a whole was "threatened externally by an imperialist and authoritarian war in the east and by frightened, uncertain, sometimes radicalized citizens at home."

Not all of the Cabinet ministers in the new German government will be from Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU-CSUbloc; some will come from the junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD).

The most prominent among them is likely to be Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who looks set to continue in his current role, but the SPD will officially announce the rest next Monday — once the party's 358,000 members have ratified the coalition agreement.

SPD General Secretary Matthias Miersch said in Berlin on Monday that the party was closely analyzing the 144-page agreement, entitled "Responsibility for Germany," but said he had not detected much "euphoria."

He admitted that a certain "distrust of the future coalition partner" had been expressed "in one or two places."

DW's political editor Michaela Kuefer has been reporting on Friedrich Merz's Cabinet picks from Berlin. Here's her analysis:

In the context of German politics, rating expertise above party political logic can be seen as almost revolutionary.

Friedrich Merz promised a Cabinet of experts. He delivered a mixture of experts and trusted allies.

New Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is a conservative defense and foreign policy expert who was at Merz's side when he visited Ukraine and took the meetings Merz himself couldn't make at the Munich Security Conference.

The pick of Thorsten Frei as chief of staff was seen as a given, after having worked closely alongside Merz in the parliamentary party group for years.

But Merz has also proven willing to take political risks when it comes to the economy-related posts.

His new trade minister is Katherina Reiche, a rising business star as CEO of the energy company Westenergie.

Another former CEO will be tasked with heading the new Digitalization and Modernization Ministry: 55-year old top manager Karsten Wildberger will leave the electronics retail giants Saturn and Media Markt to take up that role.

Merz never promised gender parity, but with four men and three women, he has also avoided adding to criticism that he only surrounds himself with men as close advisers.

The big question now is how fast Merz can get his Cabinet into action.

Most charges have been dropped after an investigation into alleged racist chanting at a bar on the northern German island of Sylt last year, prosecutors said on Monday.

Several guests at the Pony Bar in Kampen had been filmed singing "Germany to the Germans — foreigners out!" in footage which quickly went viral and led to an investigation into incitement to hatred.

Read the full story here.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected in Brussels on Monday to take part in a ceremony celebrating the accession of (West) Germany to the NATO military alliance on May 6, 1955 — just ten years after the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

The official ceremony is taking place a week ahead of the actual anniversary due to scheduling issues, with head of state Steinmeier expected back in Berlin on May 6 for the official election of Friedrich Merz as chancellor by the German Bundestag.

Also participating in the ceremony in Brussels are NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Germany Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) — who is expected to continue in his role in Merz's new CDU-led government once the Social Democrats announce their ministerial candidates.

In lighter news, the 64th German finger wrestling championship took place in the Bavarian town of Pang on Sunday.

Known in German as Fingerhakeln, finger wrestling is popular in the German and Austrian Alps, and involves contestants attempting to drag each other over a table using just their finger attached to a small leather loop.

"It's not dangerous at all," insisted Georg Hailer, president of Germany's oldest and largest finger wrestling club. "It looks worse than it really is because there's blood."

Read the full story here and insert your own joke about the CDU-SPD coalition talks.

Former German Health Minister Jens Spahn is set to be appointed the CDU's parliamentary leader in the new Bundestag, according to the DPA news agency.

While in opposition, the key parliamentary role had been held by Friedrich Merz, who will vacate the position in order to become Germany's new chancellor.

Spahn, 44, came to national and international attention when he was appointed as health minister during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has since faced criticism for the Health Ministry's ordering of 5.7 billion face masks at inflated prices, considered one of the biggest tax wastage scandals in German history.

He has also caused controversy with his comments on migration and the refugee crisis, suggesting in December 2024, as the German election campaign heated up, to pay €1,000 to each Syrian immigrant who volunteers to self-deport themselves.

He recently made headlines when he suggested treating the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) "like any other opposition party" — prompting criticism from the SPD, the CDU's future coalition partners. He defended himself, insisting he had not called for a "normalization" of the AfD.

One of the key issues facing Germany's new CDU-SPD coalition is the country's notoriously under-developed digital infrastructure, responsibility for which is set to be handed to a brand new Ministry for Digitalization and Modernization under Karsten Wildberger.

Wildberger, a trained physicist, is currently chairman of major German electronic retail group Media Markt / Saturn, and has previously sat on the board of E.ON, Telstra (Australia) and Vodafone (United Kingdom and Romania). He also worked for Deutsche Telekom between 2003 and 2006.

Germany's information-technology watchdog Bitkom has welcomed Wildberger's appointment but called for swift clarification of the new ministry's precise areas of responsibility, which are likely to include the improvement of automated state processes including the implementation of artificial intelligence, and the expansion of Germany's broadband and fiber-optic internet network.

In a less surprising move which had already been strongly suggested last week, Alexander Dobrindt of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the CDU's Bavarian sister party, has been nominated to become Germany's new interior minister.

Dobrindt, 54, has been a cabinet member before, acting as transport minister in Angela Merkel's third cabinet between 2013 and 2017. Most recently, he headed up the CSU's parliamentary grouping in opposition.

In 2018, Dobrindt caused controversy when he doubled down on his belief that "Islam is not part of Germany." 

Dobrindt is considered to have played a key role in coalition talks in recent weeks, representing the CSU along with Bavarian Premier Markus Söder, who has praised him as "the toughest professional."

As interior minister, he will succeed the SPD's Nancy Faeser , who he once accused of being the "Trojan Horse which has exacerbated the migration crisis."

In a surprise move, responsibility for Germany's struggling economy is set to be handed to Katherina Reiche, currently chief executive of Westenergie, a subsidiary of European energy giant E.ON.

Reiche was previously a member of parliament for her native Brandenburg (1998-2015) — which was formerly part of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

The 51-year-old is considered confident and ambitious, and has previously supported new nuclear power plants, warning that Germany must not stumble blindly into an energy crisis.

Reiche is replacing Robert Habeck from the Greens in the post. Habeck also served as the vice chancellor.

Perhaps fittingly for an incoming economy minister, Reiche means "rich people" in German.

Friedrich Merz's close ally Johann Wadephul is set to become Germany's top diplomat, succeeding the Greens'   Annalena Baerbock  as foreign minister.

Wadephul, 62, from the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, has been a CDU lawmaker since 2009 and was most recently vice-chair of his party's foreign policy and security committee.

Considered a close friend and confidant of Merz, Wadephul (pronounced "var-de-ful") has long advised the incoming chancellor on foreign policy issues.

Wadephul is a self-proclaimed European and has supported the ambitions of western Balkan nations such as Croatia to join the European Union (EU).

He has regularly voiced his support for Ukraine in its battle against the ongoing Russian invasion and has criticized US President Donald Trump's proposed peace deal which would see Kyiv forced to give up territory.

Well-connected in international diplomatic circles, Wadephul has already been meeting with other foreign ministers in Paris, London and Warsaw in recent weeks.