Friedrich Merz hopes to form a government by Easter as European countries stunned by Donald Trump's policies look to Germany for leadership. AFP
Friedrich Merz hopes to form a government by Easter as European countries stunned by Donald Trump's policies look to Germany for leadership. AFP
Friedrich Merz hopes to form a government by Easter as European countries stunned by Donald Trump's policies look to Germany for leadership. AFP
Friedrich Merz hopes to form a government by Easter as European countries stunned by Donald Trump's policies look to Germany for leadership. AFP

German election winner Friedrich Merz plans to ‘drastically’ cut immigration


Tim Stickings
  • English
  • Arabic

German election winner Friedrich Merz has set his sights on “drastically limiting migration” under a new government, as he aims to make support “disappear” for the jubilant far-right party which finished second.

Mr Merz's Christian Democrats were preparing for coalition talks on Monday with the aim of making him Chancellor by Easter, as European countries look to Germany for leadership in the wake of Donald Trump's decision to disengage. Voters delivered a scathing verdict on outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz as his Social Democrats (SPD) slumped to third in their worst result since the Second World War.

The humbled SPD now appears to be Mr Merz's most likely coalition partner after he confirmed he would not strike a deal with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which won a record 20.8 per cent of the vote. “You can forget this option,” Mr Merz said.

The path to a new government was made clearer on Monday as a small Russia-friendly party finished on 4.97 per cent of the vote, just short of the five per cent threshold needed to enter parliament. It means a “grand coalition” between Mr Merz's bloc and the Social Democrats would have a majority without needing a third partner such as the Greens.

An agreement on cutting immigration may prove tricky, however, with Social Democrats queasy about Mr Merz's plans to turn away asylum seekers at German borders. More than 250,000 people sought refuge in the country last year. Almost a third of them came from Syria and large numbers arrived from Afghanistan and Turkey.

Mr Merz also wants to carry out deportations to post-Assad Syria; water down reforms that made it easier for Syrians and Turks to claim German nationality; and add a condition that new citizens must support Israel's right to exist. The AfD had seized on a spate of violent attacks involving Syrians and asylum seekers to call for mass deportations from Germany.

“It is beyond dispute that we have to drastically limit migration to Germany,” said Mr Merz, as he said his aim was to cut off the AfD's support by “solving the problems” fuelling its support. “As soon as problems are solved, this party will disappear,” he said.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats slumped to the worst result in their post-war history. Bloomberg
Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats slumped to the worst result in their post-war history. Bloomberg

Analysis by The National reveals the AfD thrived in parts of Germany with relatively little immigration, while diverse major cities leaned more to the left. Older and rural areas also skewed to the hard right, while wealthy parts of Germany favoured Mr Merz's Christian Democrats.

In the 50 seats with the fewest foreign residents – almost all in Germany's former east – the AfD surged ahead with more than a third of the vote. In the 50 most diverse seats, by contrast, the AfD was fourth behind the Christian Democrats, Social Democrats and Greens.

Shunned by mainstream parties as an extremist echo of the Nazis, the AfD was enthusiastically backed by Elon Musk and has been linked to disinformation campaigns on social media. One AI company, Cyabra, estimated on Monday that 1,000 fake accounts drove pro-AfD narratives during the campaign.

AfD leader Alice Weidel said Mr Merz would be an “interim chancellor” unable to meet his pledges on immigration if he worked with left-wing parties instead of the far right. “That’s exactly what people didn’t vote for,” she said. “The whole thing will resoundingly fail.”

A downbeat Mr Scholz remains in office until a new government is formed but signalled he would not seek a role in a new coalition. “I ran for the office of chancellor and not for any other role in the government,” he said. He warned, though, that his party “will not break European law” in any deal on migration.

Bavarian leader Markus Soeder, a key conservative power-broker, said there were encouraging early signs from the Social Democrats that a coalition could be agreed. He called for a deal that "leads Germany back to normality" and boosts its economic performance.

Immigration was a prime concern for German voters in an election campaign punctuated by violent incidents involving asylum seekers. AP
Immigration was a prime concern for German voters in an election campaign punctuated by violent incidents involving asylum seekers. AP

Timo Lochocki, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, believes there's a good chance of Mr Merz's conservatives making concessions on social affairs and finance if they can “get most of their demands met” on immigration. “Striking a deal with the Greens on migration would have been way more complicated, while it's probably way more simple with the SPD,” he said.

Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, whose Greens escaped with relatively mild losses, said there was “no time to waste” as Mr Trump seeks a deal with Moscow regarding the Ukraine war and shakes up the European postwar order. “This is a historic situation that we’ve never had before,” he said.

Germany's man to face Trump

Mr Merz, 69, is asking the caretaker Scholz government to consult him on foreign policy issues as Europe responds to crumbling US support for Ukraine and Nato. EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that “Europe's destiny” was at stake as Kyiv marked three years since the Russian invasion.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was one of the world leaders to congratulate Mr Merz on his victory as he prepares for high-stakes talks at the White House on Thursday. Mr Merz said his hope was that a new German government could be formed by Easter, which falls late this year on April 20.

“The world will not wait for us,” Mr Merz said. “Europe is waiting for Germany to be ready once again to take on a stronger leadership role.”

Defeat by Merkel

A private pilot and millionaire former lawyer, Mr Merz was exiled from politics in the early 2000s after losing a power struggle with Angela Merkel, who went on to rule Germany for 16 years. After losing party elections in 2018 and 2021 he won at the third attempt to become leader of the Christian Democrats in 2022.

Friedrich Merz is asking outgoing German leader Olaf Scholz to consult him on foreign policy as Europe navigates a Donald Trump-induced crisis. Reuters
Friedrich Merz is asking outgoing German leader Olaf Scholz to consult him on foreign policy as Europe navigates a Donald Trump-induced crisis. Reuters

A former chairman of a pro-American lobby group called Atlantic Bridge, Mr Merz has described himself as both a committed European and trans-Atlanticist but now faces the task of leading Germany through a rupture in the western alliance. As opposition leader he criticised Mr Scholz for hesitating to send arms to Ukraine and suggested talks with Britain and France on sharing nuclear deterrence.

The AfD had called for the lifting of sanctions on Russia but Mr Merz said its proposals would make Germany a “vassal state of Moscow”. The left-populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, which narrowly missed the five per cent threshold, had likewise called for overtures to Russia.

The liberal Free Democrats, who were part of Mr Scholz's government until November, also missed the five per cent cut and will not be represented in the new parliament. Party leader Christian Lindner announced he would quit politics.

Short-term let permits explained

Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.

Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.

There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.

Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Company profile

Name:​ One Good Thing ​

Founders:​ Bridgett Lau and Micheal Cooke​

Based in:​ Dubai​​ 

Sector:​ e-commerce​

Size: 5​ employees

Stage: ​Looking for seed funding

Investors:​ ​Self-funded and seeking external investors

Company%20Profile
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Trump v Khan

2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US

2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks

2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit

2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”

2022:  Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency

July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”

Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.

Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”

RESULTS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E5pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Al%20Shamkha%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(Turf)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ruwani%2C%20Moatasem%20Al%20Balushi%20(jockey)%2C%20Abdallah%20Al%20Hammadi%20(trainer)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E5.30pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Khalifa%20City%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAF%20Heraqle%2C%20Bernardo%20Pinheiro%2C%20Qaiss%20Aboud%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E6pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Masdar%20City%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AF%20Yatwy%2C%20Patrick%20Cosgrave%2C%20Nisren%20Mahgoub%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E6.30pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wathba%20Stallions%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(T)%202%2C200m%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AF%20Alzahi%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%2C%20Ernst%20Oertel%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E7pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Emirates%20Championship%20%E2%80%93%20Group%201%20(PA)%20Dh1%2C000%2C000%20(T)%202%2C200m%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ajrad%20Athbah%2C%20Bernardo%20Pinheiro%2C%20Majed%20Al%20Jahouri%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E7.30pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shakbout%20City%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%202%2C400m%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Webinar%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%2C%20Bhupat%20Seemar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Details

Kabir Singh

Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series

Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga

Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa

Rating: 2.5/5 

Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

The Farewell

Director: Lulu Wang

Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma

Four stars

Info

What: 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship

When: December 27-29, 2018

Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams

Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae, Virgin megastores or call 800 86 823

Mumbai Indians 213/6 (20 ov)

Royal Challengers Bangalore 167/8 (20 ov)

Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015

- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France

THE BIO

Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren

Favourite travel destination: Switzerland

Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers

Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum

Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
​​​​​​​Penguin Press

UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

PROFILE OF CURE.FIT

Started: July 2016

Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori

Based: Bangalore, India

Sector: Health & wellness

Size: 500 employees

Investment: $250 million

Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)

Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

Company%20profile
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Sour%20Grapes
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Champion%20v%20Champion%20(PFL%20v%20Bellator)
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UK’s AI plan
  • AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
  • £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
  • £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
  • £250m to train new AI models
The%C2%A0specs%20
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Profile

Company: Libra Project

Based: Masdar City, ADGM, London and Delaware

Launch year: 2017

Size: A team of 12 with six employed full-time

Sector: Renewable energy

Funding: $500,000 in Series A funding from family and friends in 2018. A Series B round looking to raise $1.5m is now live.

Company%20Profile
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Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Looming%20global%20slowdown%20and%20recession%20in%20key%20economies%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Russia-Ukraine%20war%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Interest%20rate%20hikes%20and%20the%20rising%20cost%20of%20debt%20servicing%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Oil%20price%20volatility%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Persisting%20inflationary%20pressures%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Exchange%20rate%20fluctuations%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shortage%20of%20labour%2Fskills%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20A%20resurgence%20of%20Covid%3F%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results

5.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Al Battar, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer).

6.05pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Good Fighter, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

6.40pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Way Of Wisdom, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

7.15pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m; Winner: Immortalised, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

7.50pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Franz Kafka, James Doyle, Simon Crisford.

8.25pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Mayadeen, Connor Beasley, Doug Watson.

9pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Chiefdom, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

Updated: February 24, 2025, 1:44 PM