After defeat in Saxony-Anhalt, Merz calls CDU leaders to verify support

The CDU’s poor result in the Saxony-Anhalt elections has brought the political future of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz back into focus.

The government is facing a significant decline in support, while the chancellor’s party is also performing poorly in opinion polls ahead of elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Within the CDU, criticism has grown over Merz’s communication style and the difficult reforms he has undertaken. The coalition partner, the SPD, has also expressed concern about divisions within the chancellor’s political force.

Among the names mentioned as possible successors are Markus Söder, the leader of Bavaria and head of the CSU, as well as Hendrik Wüst, the minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia. However, so far, none of the rivals has publicly challenged Merz. At the same time, eight state premiers from CDU-governed states have reiterated their support for the chancellor.

Sources from Berlin’s political circles say that Merz intends to call the CDU executive committee to a meeting in Berlin on Sunday evening, immediately after the results of the elections in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are announced.

At the meeting, he is expected to ask the committee to state whether he continues to have the party’s confidence. To attend the meeting, Merz has canceled a long-planned trip to New York, where he was due to attend the United Nations General Assembly.