Russia and Ukraine flashpoint

[RolStoppable]

Ryuu96 said:

Germany's opposition leader Friedrich Merz calls for a 24-hour ultimatum to Russia to stop bombing civilian infrastructure. If ignored, he urges lifting range limits on weapons for Ukraine and sending Taurus missiles. pic.twitter.com/YftEpF5ehG

— NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) October 16, 2024

@crissindahouse Who is this dude and does he have any influence?

Merz is the leader of the conservative CDU and designated candidate for chancellor in next year's election. Currently he is the leader of the biggest opposition party because the CDU isn't in the government coalition.

He's an important guy, but his influence is limited because in order to get anything done, he would need a sizeable amount of dissenters among the government coalition of SPD, Greens and liberals, because the other two remaining parties are Russia-friendly. He has made plenty of suggestions and demands over the years, but almost everything got shot down and the few wins on his record fall usually into the category of immigration issues in Germany.