section_path: Political positions
section_name: Political positions
paragraph_text: Political positions
  
  Merz has focused on economic, foreign, security, and family policies. He is seen as a representative of the pro-business wings of the CDU. He is viewed as an economic liberal who makes some concessions to conservative party members who stress the need for social engagement. Merz embraces some conservative social policies regarding families, although the Berliner Morgenpost says he is not as "dogmatic" as in his early political career. He is associated with neoliberalism.
  
  As a young politician in the 1970s and 1980s, he was a staunch supporter of anti-communism, the dominant state doctrine of West Germany and a core tenet of the CDU. His book Mehr Kapitalismus wagen (transl: Venturing More Capitalism) advocates economic liberalism.