Friedrich Merz and Lars Klingbeil: Well, they dare to do something!

Boris Pistorius and Alexander Dobrindt: This is the name of the two men who have government experience in Berlin – and who should also belong to the future cabinet. All other 14 designated ministers have never done government policy at the highest level. This also explicitly applies to Friedrich Merz, who is facing election in the Bundestag this Tuesday.

It is a huge personal risk that the CDU chairman and his SPD colleague Lars Klingbeil go into: As a chancellor and Vice Chancellor, they want to rule the newcomers at the cabinet table with all other newcomers. And that in these times!

The following applies to all of them: they have never had such a great responsibility. They have never led so large civil servants. And they have never been under pressure.

But that could prove to be an advantage. Because if this country needs something, it is a restart – and it can not only succeed with people who would simply continue as before.

From this point of view, the future cabinet is a very interesting mix of political professionals, promoters, career changers and returnees, which at least not corresponds to the usual regional proporz at the Union. At the professionals, the former CSU Federal Minister of Transport Dobrindt, who is now becoming the Interior Minister, meets previous state ministers such as Stefanie Hubig (SPD), who takes over the judicial department, or an Environment Minister Carsten Schneider, who has a 27-year career in SPD parliamentary group and Chancellery.

There are also many promoters from the second row. Minister of Minister of Minister Reem Alabali-Radovan (SPD), for example, becomes Minister of Development. Or the Parliamentary Managing Director of the Union faction, Thorsten Frei, takes over the Chancellery.

Finally, the absolute career changer Karsten Wildberger is still there. The independent digital minister in Spe was recently head of Media-Markt-/Saturn. The future CDU Minister of Economics Katherina Reiche, in turn, like Merz, is one of the returnees in politics after many years in business.

Yes, certainly, some personal details seem to be in need of justification. Why Klingbeil promotes Alabali-Radovan, but the leaders’ experienced women such as incumbent Svenja Schulze or his co-boss Saskia Esken went over, it cannot be explained alone with the right effort for diversity. The CDU MP Patrick Schnieder still has to show what actually qualifies him as Minister of Transport.

And yet: After the Merz Union has completed with the Merkel era and the Klingbeil-SPD does not only leave the traffic light time behind in migration policy, it is only logical to break a break. This also applies to the selection of State Secretary and Minister of State.

Your job is huge. This federal government has to create everything at the same time under adverse external and economic circumstances: promoting structural, social and tax reforms, spending an impact on investment billions, reducing energy prices, stimulating the economy, controlling migration, improving integration, increasing internal security, providing federal and cyber defense- and restore the trust of many citizens in these state.

The coalition agreement between the Union and the SPD promises all and more. But he hardly exudes departure or even courage beyond the loosened debt brake. With your staff, Merz and Klingbeil are actually trying new things. They dare to do something.

First of all, this is a value in itself, beyond the increased risk that comes into hold. Otherwise there is a good custom to give a new government 100 days. Even in this accelerated world and despite the original German desire to fail, this should apply grace period.