berlin peter altmaier say would never rise top tier german politics appearance huge man seem perpetually dishevel shirt untucked tie askew chancellor angela merkel chief staff stand-in finance chief could become influential minister next coalition government senior officials say recent years merkel often turn altmaier know allzweckwaffe purpose weapon carry sensitive complex task secure majorities unpopular greek bailouts coordinate government response 2015 refugee crisis since sept. 24 election also emerge bridge builder disparate party coalition talk talk succeed officials believe merkel try keep finance ministry tackle may big challenge fourth term broke deal french president emmanuel macron reform european union merkel make finance minister transition period sign trust job future senior aide chancellor tell reuters henrik enderlein head delors institut berlin think tank say would send strong signal france altmaier continue finance ministry post liberal free democrats fdp expect first choice ministry new government leader christian lindner claim finance ministry altmaier could pole position although fdp members merkel christian democrats cdu skeptical macron proposals notably idea create budget finance minister euro zone believe altmaier tone alone would inject new momentum relationship berlin paris altmaier decline speak reuters story say publicly whether interest become finance minister permanently meet french finance minister bruno le maire last week say proposals paris would greet unlimited enthusiasm add never make secret advocate franco-german cooperation jovial 59-year-old state saarland french border altmaier stand among politicians officials merkel close entourage dominate technocrats son coal miner nurse altmaier first prominent german politician actively embrace twitter host extravagant dinners vast apartment west berlin cook gefilde saarland specialty potato dumplings fill liverwurst soak bacon-cream sauce guests political strip altmaier speak fluent english french dutch unlike boss master communicator also like make fun particularly weight estimate several years ago 140 kilos 309 pound describe state secret may wichtigste important minister gewichtigste heavy joke years merkel mr fix cdu officials see dark horse candidate succeed chancellor one day parliamentary whip cdu skeptics greek bailouts home-cooked meals red wine thin majority fat altmaier get bundestag members use quip late merkel environment minister bring order nuclear power phase-out appoint chief staff 2013. two years late turn altmaier help arrival hundreds thousands refugees year write cdu election program coalition talk merkel conservatives fdp green altmaier mediator gently nudge party close together participants say like merkel cdu moderate join bundestag 1994 incur wrath traditionalists push reform strict german citizenship laws rehabilitation world war two deserters part pizza connection group young lawmakers cdu green meet regularly italian restaurant bonn environmentalist party view radical fringe group many conservatives enter german politics altmaier study european law work european commission late participate european convention lead eu lisbon treaty altmaier one small number top-tier german politicians real experience brussels say martin selmayr chief staff european commission president jean-claude juncker work altmaier convention 2002. commit european would powerful pro-european voice german government europe could next mission merkel 's 'mr fix