On the same day, Chancellor Friedrich Merz will hold a meeting with the CDU leadership, where a decision regarding his resignation may be made.
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High-ranking party officials are privately already considering whether the chancellor needs to be changed to stop the rapid loss of voter support, writes „Politico“.
F. Merz’s own popularity rating dropped to 14% this week, while the CDU and its ally CSU bloc fell to an unprecedented 18%. Meanwhile, the far-right „Alternative for Germany“ (AfD) is supported by 29% of the population; two weeks ago, it received almost 44% in the Saxony-Anhalt state elections, while the CDU’s share dropped by more than half.
F. Merz scheduled a CDU executive committee meeting for Sunday evening, when exit poll data and the first election results will start coming in, reports ZDF. He wants to initiate an „indirect vote of confidence“ by asking the party leadership whether it is prepared to support him personally and his economic reform program. If not, F. Merz will ask to name a successor candidate, write ZDF and „Politico“.
Even if the party does not support F. Merz, he could remain in office for several more weeks or even months while a new candidate is negotiated. This, among other things, will have to be discussed with the Social Democratic Party, which is part of the ruling coalition. Moreover, F. Merz has no strong opponents within the CDU, and he essentially relies on this when raising the support question.
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F. Merz „forces potential opponents to openly state their position,“ but at the moment, it seems „no one is yet ready for that,“ says political scientist Torsten Faas from the Free University of Berlin.
On Wednesday, the prime ministers of eight states issued a letter stating that „Germany needs reliability and action,“ not „discussions about personnel issues.“ It also mentions next year’s elections in France, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Greece, noting that Europe now needs a „stable and strong Germany.“
This letter is by no means unconditional support for F. Merz, notes „Politico“: it does not even mention his name, but it may mean that the top CDU leadership currently lacks sufficient will to remove him. Instead, the party may try to unite ranks and regain popularity by urging the Social Democrats to support even more decisive social reforms.
F. Merz recently stated that he was elected for four years and wants to prove that the coalition can implement reforms. „I am firmly determined to stick to this course,“ he said at a meeting of the German Wholesale and Foreign Trade Federation.
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