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Hobby pilot Merz with his wife Charlotte when landing on Sylt, for the wedding of Finance Minister Christian Lindner: "Better to be financially independent than to have debts"
Photo: Axel Heimken / dpa
The CDU chairman Friedrich Merz has defended himself against allegations that his wealth and extravagant hobbies such as flying made him unsuitable as a representative of the people.
"Whether someone is suitable for taking on political responsibility does not depend on their wallet, but on their individual skills," said Merz of the magazine "Bunte" according to the preliminary report.
He had earned every penny himself and found it “always better to be financially independent than to have debts or to earn your money like a former chancellor with Russian gas companies.” The opposition leader thus took a dig at former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD), who has long been criticized for its involvement with Russian energy companies and is now facing expulsion proceedings.
Merz also defended his noble hobby against criticism.
"Flying was always the dream of my youth," said the CDU politician.
As a student, a young family man and later a young professional, he couldn't afford to fly at first.
His wife Charlotte later expressed concerns and urged him not to start until after the children had moved out.
In the meantime, however, she also likes to fly with us.
Before returning to politics, Merz had worked for several years in the private sector on various supervisory and administrative boards, including as chairman of the supervisory board of the asset manager Black Rock in Germany.
His arrival by private plane to the wedding of Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) on the North Sea island of Sylt recently caused discussions.
Merz had justified the flight against criticism and stated that the small machine used "less fuel than any official car of a member of the federal government".
Even then he pointed out that flying was "an old dream" of his.
The head of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Johan Rockström, is apparently not convinced of the supposedly good environmental balance of Merz' travel means of choice.
He invites Friedrich Merz to the institute to convince him of the urgency of the climate crisis, Rockström told Die Zeit in view of the Merz flight to Sylt.
It is important to seek dialogue with conservative skeptics.
fek/dpa
