Merz Vows to Stay On as Chancellor After State Election Setbacks
Friedrich Merz says he will remain chancellor and CDU leader after defeats in two state elections, though his room for manoeuvre looks increasingly limited.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he intends to remain at the head of both the government and his centre-right Christian Democratic Union, following a fresh round of state election defeats that has renewed scrutiny of his leadership.
Merz, 70, moved quickly after polls closed on Sunday in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin, making an unusual election-night appearance to shore up his position within the CDU. He said he would continue with reforms aimed at reviving Germany's sluggish economy.
"What has to be done now requires backbone, steadfastness and patience," Merz said. "I will demonstrate that as the CDU party leader and above all as chancellor of our country."
Whether the CDU will stand behind him, and for how long, remains an open question. The party's eight state governors had publicly backed him before Sunday's votes, but his decision to speak out so soon after the results underscored how much his authority has eroded in recent weeks. It is unclear whether support from regional leaders and lawmakers will hold.
Merz has one advantage: no single obvious successor is waiting in the wings. Among the names that have been floated are the governors of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst; Bavaria, Markus Söder; and Hesse, Boris Rhein. None has signalled an interest in taking over, and Wüst faces an election next spring in Germany's most populous state.
Surviving politically is one matter; governing effectively is another. Merz has already agreed the outline of proposed reforms with his junior coalition partners, the centre-left Social Democrats. But politicians on both sides have questioned the details during the election campaigns, particularly parts of an overhaul of the pension system, and it is uncertain whether he can steer the plans through parliament as intended.
The governing coalition holds only a 12-seat majority in the 630-seat Bundestag, the lower house of the national parliament. Passing the reforms will require a level of discipline the coalition has not always shown, and that task becomes harder if lawmakers grow more nervous. The thin majority also complicates any effort to replace Merz, since a successor would need to be elected in the Bundestag.
In theory, Merz could hand over management of the party to someone else and focus on running the country. There is precedent: Angela Merkel gave up the CDU leadership after a poor state election result in 2018 but stayed on as chancellor until 2021, and her Social Democratic predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, did the same in 2004 after his popularity fell during welfare reforms. In this case, however, there is no obvious candidate for the party role, and Merz has made clear he does not want to give it up.
Sunday's results have deepened his difficulties, turning attention even more sharply to his ability to deliver reforms while holding both the coalition and his own party together. Merz himself acknowledged as he pressed the case for change that "not everything will win quick applause." He must also keep watch on the far-right Alternative for Germany.
Even if he stays in charge, he has only a seven-month respite before the next round of state elections, none of them in Alternative for Germany's eastern heartland. Another setback could quickly revive questions about his leadership.