The defeat inflicted by Angela Merkel’s own party is expediting her fall from power. But, now that the cards have been put on the table, she needs to act fast to achieve her EU goals, DW’s Michaela Küfner writes.
On September 26, 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a speech at the Sorbonne laying out his vision for the future of the European Union. In Berlin, his remarks were seen as a to-do list for the bloc. The speech divided the members of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives in parliament. Supporters of the French president’s vision were ready to stand behind his call for a joint EU budget and expanding the European Stability Mechanism fund. Critics, however, viewed Macron’s plans as an effort to take money away from German taxpayers in order to make up for budget shortfalls in other EU member states.
More recently, the election of Ralph Brinkhaus as Merkel’s new parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag after the ouster of her longtime ally Volker Kauder was a domestic political defeat for the chancellor; it also limited her influence within the European Union. Brinkhaus may not be a euroskeptic, but he is fully supportive of what Macron has lamented as the “fetish” of fiscal conservatism, particularly when it comes to policy in Brussels. The fact that his views stand in the way of reaching consensus at the EU level seems to bother Brinkhaus little. However, in the minds of Germany’
conservative parliamentary group — an alliance between Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) — he is a breath of fresh air.
DW’s Michaela Küfner
Security and prosperity across the European Union, the central message of Merkel’s one-on-one talks with Macron earlier this year, require not only a strong euro, but also concerted efforts by member states. However, it seems that Merkel’s struggles will continue, particularly when it comes to achieving a common eurozone budget.
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