Little Merz: Philipp Amthor was long considered a strange one-off in the CDU. Now he is moving to the center of the party

Philipp Amthor is late. When he arrives at a Berlin television studio that evening, the others are already there: the well-known publisher, the cabaret artist, the SPD politician and of course the presenter. Amthor apologizes with a relaxed smile before disappearing into the mask. He can afford to keep others waiting again.

Philipp Amthor. Who was that again? In 2017, at the age of 24, he became the youngest member of the CDU to enter the Bundestag. A boy face in a suit and tie. He acted as if he had been there forever. Bizarre figure, great speaker. Once he dismantled the AfD in a plenary session and was soon on all the talk shows. But suddenly it was over. Crash. Stay away from the window.

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