Too many ethnic Germans in government? Left-wing politician complains about "potato cabinet"

On Monday, the CDU unanimously voted in favor of the coalition agreement at a small party conference. They also introduced the federal ministers who will form part of the new cabinet. The ministerial election is causing criticism not only within the party.

For example, the deputy federal chairman of the Left Party, Ateş Gürpınar, wrote on Platform X that Friedrich Merz 's cabinet was a "melting pot of old cronyism, careerists, and lobbyists." The appointment of future Economics Minister Katherina Reiche, in particular, had drawn criticism in advance. Anti-lobbying groups accused her of being too closely aligned with interest groups in the energy industry.

Gürpınar further criticized the future Merz cabinet for lacking diversity, even stating that there is no trace of it. Rather, it is a "potato cabinet" that "represents yesterday's Germany – not today's society." The term "potato" is often used as a derogatory term for Germans without a migration background.

Gürpınar's party colleague, Heidi Reichinnek, also sharply criticized Merz for his choice of minister. She told fr.de: "Just as in her parliamentary group, the CDU/CSU is failing to reflect society in the cabinet." Women, East Germans, and people with a migrant background are not adequately represented in the cabinet. This, she said, is a level of ignorance beyond compare.

The CSU adopted the coalition agreement by executive board resolution shortly after the agreement was reached in mid-April. The CDU and CSU also presented their list of cabinet members. The new cabinet will once again be dominated by men. The CDU will nominate four men and three women, while the CSU will nominate two men and one woman. Politicians from eastern Germany are even more significantly underrepresented.