Friedrich Merz is moving further and further away from Angela Merkel's centrist politics. He is alienating Merkel's base German economy between stagnation and recession - Merz's 12-point plan should fix it Merz puts the firewall into perspective - cooperation with the AfD at the local level possible? Merz CDU with a clear gap to the SPD and the Greens: His last chance for the Chancellery This article is available for the first time in German - it was first published by Foreign Policy magazine on February 12, 2024.