Merkatz was the classic career soldier and possibly one of the final supporters of the Goldenbaum Dynasty even though he knew there was no realistic chance of its revival. He knew that the old nobility as represented by the Lippstadt League had been corrupt and incompetent, and that life for the people of the Empire had improved with Lohengramm's reforms. Nonetheless, he could not bring himself to serve under Duke Lohengramm partly out of pride and partly out of feeling this would violate his oath of loyalty to the Goldenbaum Dynasty. Although he subsequently fought against the Galactic Empire and then the New Galactic Empire, he remained essentially apolitical and focused purely on military matters.