Eight German state premiers back Merz amid leadership speculation
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Eight German state premiers from Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU party publicly backed him on Tuesday, urging a focus on policy over personnel debates. The statement comes as Merz faces record-low approval ratings and the far-right AfD surges ahead of two state elections on Sunday.
Key Facts
- Eight CDU state premiers signed a letter backing Chancellor Friedrich Merz, calling for stability and a focus on political action rather than personnel debates.
- The AfD won 43.8% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt on September 1, while the CDU fell to 17.2%, marking the first time since World War Two that a far-right party has come close to controlling a German state.
- A recent Bild poll showed only 14% of Germans believe Merz is right for the job of chancellor.
- CDU officials will meet on Sunday to coordinate the party's response to state election results in Berlin and Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, where the AfD is expected to make further gains.
The Letter of Support
The premiers of Schleswig-Holstein, Saxony, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Berlin, and North Rhine-Westphalia signed the statement. They wrote that restoring trust in the CDU lay in "listening and taking political action, not in debates over personnel." The letter stated that "now more than ever, Germany's political landscape needs stability" and that the country needs "a stable and effective federal government with its own majority in the Bundestag." The endorsement follows Bavarian Premier Markus Söder's public backing of Merz earlier this week.
Electoral Pressure
Merz has been chancellor for only 16 months and faces poor approval ratings while the AfD surges in polls. In the Saxony-Anhalt election on September 1, the AfD won 43.8% of the vote, while the CDU received 17.2%. The AfD is three seats short of an outright majority in the state parliament, and major parties have ruled out a coalition with it. Two more state elections are scheduled for Sunday in Berlin and Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, where the AfD is poised for further gains.
Merz's Response and Party Dynamics
After the Saxony-Anhalt loss, Merz called the AfD a "destructive force" and accused its migration policy of amounting to "ethnic cleansing" of skilled workers. The AfD responded by filing a defamation complaint against Merz over what it called "baseless" and "disgusting" claims. An unnamed party source told Reuters that CDU officials will meet on Sunday to coordinate the party's response to the election results.
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