Germany’s second-most powerful woman is picking a fight with Angela Merkel. Hannelore Kraft, the Social Democratic prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, says that Merkel’s federal government isn’t taking tax evasion seriously. Her state, which has more people than the Netherlands, won’t back down. “I stand by this approach: fairness in tax matters is a central plank of my politics,” Kraft said in an interview on August 30th. “It’s consistent and right to continue to pursue tax evasion forcefully.” Kraft’s role in spearheading the fight against tax dodging reflects the power she wields as the head of Germany’s most populous state. Could Kraft be a match for Merkel? According to Ulrich Sarcinelli, a professor of political science at the University of Koblenz-Landau, “Whatever way the election goes, Kraft is the figure in the SPD who has the biggest chances in the middle- and long-term to take over the chancellery one day.”
Source: Bloomberg / Businessweek / Reuters