Der Spiegel: Merz May Lose His Position
- 3.08.2026, 12:07
After the fall election.
The political standing of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz continues to wane. His personnel decisions within the government and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) have sparked a wave of criticism, led to a series of resignations and appointments, and undermined trust among both voters and fellow party members. This is reported by Der Spiegel citing representatives of the CDU and its traditional ally, the Christian Social Union (CSU).
According to the publication, doubts about the chancellor’s political future are increasingly being voiced within the party leadership. One influential CDU member called the situation “unthinkable.” In a private message, he described Merz as a man “in a tunnel” who has lost touch with reality and is no longer able to connect with his own party. In his view, by September 21 at the latest, the chancellor will either resign voluntarily or be forced to do so.
Elections in Berlin and the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are scheduled for September 21. Even earlier, on September 6, voting will take place in Saxony-Anhalt. In all these regions, according to polls, the far-right party “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) is in the lead. In Saxony-Anhalt, it could win about 41% of the vote, while the CDU is projected to receive only 24%. According to pollsters, the Left Party is in third place with 13%.
As Der Spiegel notes, the September elections could prove decisive for Merz’s future political career. Approximately 1.7 million voters will effectively determine the fate of the head of government of Europe’s largest economy.
After coming to power, Merz succeeded in relaxing constitutional restrictions on government spending, promising to significantly increase funding for defense and infrastructure. However, while military spending has indeed risen, investments in the civilian sector are progressing much more slowly than expected. The economic acceleration that experts and the public had hoped for has not yet materialized.
According to Der Spiegel, the chancellor has recently been making decisions within the party and the government that many of his allies consider to be misguided. One such incident was the July resignation of the head of the CDU parliamentary group in the Bundestag Jens Spahn—a longtime political rival of Merz. Instead of strengthening his own position, the chancellor initiated large-scale personnel reshuffles, which party insiders describe as a veritable merry-go-round. At the same time, the governments of several federal states were affected, including Saxony-Anhalt, from which Merz decided to transfer the most successful regional politicians.
The crisis within the CDU, according to the publication, has reached such a level that during a party leadership meeting last week, a letter was made public in which the parliamentary caucus refused to meet with the chancellor, citing a lack of “a minimum level of mutual trust and respect.”
The CDU leadership is increasingly discussing the possibility of Merz stepping down after the September elections. According to Der Spiegel, some of his allies believe that if several influential state premiers convince the chancellor that stepping down is in the best interests of the party and the country, he might agree to leave office. However, they are not certain that this scenario will play out.