What Merz's cabinet reshuffle reveals about his leadership | Berlin Briefing Podcast
An ad-hoc cabinet reshuffle just backfired on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. With political egos flying and hurt feelings all around, could this inner-party frustration threaten
An ad-hoc cabinet reshuffle just backfired on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. With political egos flying and hurt feelings all around, could this inner-party frustration threaten the stability of his government? Merz only has a narrow 12-vote majority in parliament for a host of planned reform packages. Is this a threat to government stability? And does this play into the hands of the far-right AfD, which is already leading nationwide polls?
DW's Michaela Küfner and Nina Haase draw on the expertise of Reuters' Chief Correspondent Andreas Rinke to separate the political drama from the facts, and they debate whether Merz is better at strengthening his government or creating problems for himself. Chapters 00:00 Egos flying 02:31 Saxony-Anhalt test 5:26 Merz's real Challenge 6:38 Personnel carousel 09:45 New faces, new strategy?
12:49 WhatsApp politics 15:24 Fallout from Spahn's exit 20:06 12-Vote Majority 21:45 Lessons from the Merkel Era 24:45 AfD Leads Polls 26:43 Unpopularity Contest 32:48 Can stability return? Berlin Briefing Episodes Articles Why did Jens Spahn's surrogacy spark debate in Germany? Germany news: CDU wins Rhineland-Palatinate election Germany: SPD
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