Merz Drafted Lobbyist for German Coalition. Now It’s Costing Him

A day after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition limped out of a bruising weekend-long meeting with a gas-tax cut for consumers, his conservative economy minister was greeted like a champion at a party leadership gathering.

The extended round of applause on Monday for Katherina Reiche, a former energy industry executive and lobbyist, was striking. The cabinet minister had neither supported the tax cut nor attended the meeting — and had just been publicly reprimanded by Merz for her sustained attacks on the Social Democratic coalition partner.