Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz: Chancellor by federal grace

Almost two weeks have passed since the elections in Saxony-Anhalt. Since then, the Chancellor's authority, which was already just an authority, has shrunk faster than a CDU bar on election Sunday. But now the Prime Ministers of the Union have come through and assured Friedrich Merz of their support in a joint letter. Although it is more of a backstop.

Shortly before the elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the prime ministers realized that a change of chancellors would not solve the Union's problems: “Personnel discussions,” it is said, did not lead to more trust. They also reject a minority government, as some in the Union dream of. In this way, the Prime Ministers are preventing the CDU from short-circuiting after the impending election defeats on Sunday.

Because they would be the ones who would have the power to overthrow the Chancellor. If they jointly called on Friedrich Merz to resign, he would probably have no choice. The country leaders watched for a long time. With their silence, they made the excessive media speculation and attacks on the Chancellor from within their own ranks possible. Even a CDU politician from the third row like Clara von Nathusius could stand on television and put the Chancellor in a coffin - she knew that she had nothing to fear from the powerful in her party.

The taz is an independent, left-wing and opinionated daily newspaper. We have been arguing in our comments, essays and debate texts since the taz was founded in 1979. We often cannot and do not want to agree on an opinion. That's why you'll find some completely opposing positions here - all part of the very broad left-wing spectrum of opinions.

In order to get this minimum of support from his prime ministers, Friedrich Merz was forced to use all his strength: the foreign chancellor had to cancel his trip to New York and invite people to a formal meeting of the executive committee on election Sunday. It was only these cries for help that brought the Prime Ministers to their commitment.

With this gesture, the Prime Ministers make it clear that they are the powerful men in the Union who stand for stability. They only mention the Chancellor in the last sentence and not even by name. You yourself are currently not interested in swapping chancellors. Nobody wants to take Merz’s place, not now, not in this coalition, not with an erratic faction and a Union in crisis of meaning. For Hendrik Wüst, who probably has the best chance of becoming Chancellor, the timing is not right.

He first wants to win the elections in North Rhine-Westphalia in the spring and then reach for the candidacy for chancellor from a position of strength. The support for Merz has an expiration date. For now, Friedrich Merz may remain in office. But he is now a chancellor of federal grace. What strengthens him in the short term only reveals his weakness.