Three Problems for Merz: Presidential Candidate, Sugar Tax and Lagarde's Successor
Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany's CDU party, must resolve three pressing issues. The most prominent is the candidacy for the office of German federal president.
Friedrich Merz, chairman of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), faces three pressing issues this weekend. They are a dispute over a sugar tax, the question of who will succeed Christine Lagarde as president of the European Central Bank (ECB), and, above all, the candidacy for the federal president's office. The topics are covered in POLITICO's Berlin Playbook podcast.
Pressure over the presidency
Podcast guest Rasmus Buchsteiner explains why Merz is under pressure to act on the matter of Ilse Aigner, and which deals are now being negotiated behind the scenes.
The episode also features a 200-second interview with Konrad Körner, deputy chair of the Junge Union, the youth wing of the conservative parties. He discusses the power claims of the Bavarian party CSU and what a Bavarian woman as federal president would mean for Markus Söder's ambitions to become chancellor.
The fuel price cap
Another topic is the planned fuel price cap, which is meant to bring relief at the pump. Joana Lehner explains why the project is now hanging in the balance and how this prestige project could still fail in the final stretch. More on the subject is promised in the POLITICO Pro newsletter "Energie und Klima am Morgen".
About the podcast
The Berlin Playbook podcast is released every morning from 5 a.m. It is produced by Rixa Fürsen, Maximilian Stascheit and the POLITICO team, and describes itself as compact, international and in-depth political audio. A Berlin Playbook newsletter is also offered to professionals following politics in the German capital.
