Two private jets but I'm middle class, says Germany's 'anti-Merkel'
by Kate Connolly in Berlin from World news | The Guardian on (#43BC2)
Friedrich Merz, frontrunner to become next CDU leader, says class is not just about money
A frontrunner to take over from Angela Merkel as leader of Germany's main conservative party is facing criticism for describing himself as "upper middle class" despite having amassed a fortune working in the financial sector and owning two private jets.
Friedrich Merz, 62, who has been selling himself as the man who can save Germany from political and economic stagnation, and is seen as the most likely to succeed Merkel as head of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), was forced to disclose this week that his annual earnings amounted to around a1m (890,000). The size of his personal fortune is estimated to run to several million.
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