ANGELA MERKEL’s successor will have to fix a number of monumental errors, including her biggest mistake which left the European Union on the brink of collapse, according to influential German MEP Hans-olaf Henkel.
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| Angela Merkel's successor must fix her EU disasters, warns Hans-Olaf Henkel |
Mr Henkel believes Mrs Merkel’s replacement must have no played a role in her decision to open Germany’ borders to over a million illegal migrants, which brought into question the EU’s entire migrant policy.
The German Chancellor fired the starting pistol on the race to succeed her when she announced her decision to bow out of politics in 2021, but much sooner from the leadership of the Christian Democratic Union.
Mrs Merkel announced she would not stand for re-election as her party’s chairwoman at their upcoming conference in early December, leaving potential candidates scrambling to take the reigns.
Mr Henkel has already handpicked the next German chancellor despite not being politically affiliated with the current incumbent.
The 78-year-old MEP, who shares a group with the British Conservatives, believes Mrs Merkel’s successor must have not played a part in the mistakes that have brought her leadership crashing down.
“There is no better candidate but Friedrich Merz to replace her in both positions as Party leader and as Chancellor,” he said.
“Merz has nothing to do with the major mistakes made by Merkel.”
Mr Merz is one of the favourites to replace Mrs Merkel at the helm of German politics, and would be making a return to politics if he does.
He has not been a member of the Bundestag since 2019 but was considered a political rival of Mrs Merkel in the early years of her premiership, but was sidelined as her power became unassailable.
And Mr Henkel believes his political sabbatical has only helped him when it comes to putting his case across to become CDU chairman and eventually German chancellor.
“He did not participate in ruining the Maastricht Treaty by bailing out Greece in May 2010,” Mr Henkel said.
“He would not have panicked by shutting down the world’s safest nuclear plants when a tsunami hit Fukushima.
“He would never agreed to an energy policy, which exposes Germany’s energy supply and pulls the rug under German industries’ competitiveness.
“He was not responsible for moving the CDU constantly to the left shrinking the party’s result from election to election.
“Most importantly, he wouldn’t have exposed Germany and its neighbours to over a million of refugees, thereby helping to resurrect the right wing AfD and creating significant rifts in the EU.”
Mr Merz doesn’t face a clearcut run to Berlin’s top job, facing stiff competition from Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
The current CDU general secretary shares much of Mrs Merkel’s politics but won’t receive a recommendation from her boss to run.