Merz in crisis: support at five before state elections

Ten days have passed since the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, which were disastrous for the CDU. Ten days in which the progressive uncertainty in the CDU and the Chancellor's loss of authority could be observed in fast motion. Now the eight CDU prime ministers are speaking together for the first time. They reject speculation about a chancellor swap or a minority government and give Friedrich Merz something of a backing.

“The path to new trust among people in the Christian Democrats leads through listening and political action, not through personnel discussions,” says a statement available to the taz. Germany needs stability more than ever and the unity of the German Christian Democrats is now important, they appeal to their own party.

In view of the expected poor election results in the state elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, they are impregnating them against panic reactions. They formulate three basic beliefs. Firstly: Germany will continue to need “a stable and effective federal government with its own majority in the Bundestag” in the future.

Since its founding, the CDU has stood for the successful model of German coalition democracy like no other party. There will be elections next year in France, Poland, Italy, Spain and Greece with an uncertain outcome. “It will be all the more important for a stable and strong Germany in a united Europe.”

This should be understood as an appeal to those who would like to throw the SPD out of the coalition. The chairman of the middle class parliamentary group in the Union faction, Christian von Stetten, had called for SPD Labor Minister Bärbel Bas to be fired. This would inevitably result in the withdrawal of all Social Democratic ministers and the black-red coalition would be a thing of the past. The Chancellery denied such simulation games.

Secondly, the prime ministers postulate that the CDU is ready to work with all democratic forces. They do not say whether they also mean the Left Party. However, a party conference resolution by the CDU rules out cooperation with both the Left and the AfD.

And thirdly, it says: Germany needs reliability and no personnel debates. People could trust that their problems would be addressed. “As Prime Ministers, we want and will make our contribution to this together with the Chancellor.”

The statement is signed by Daniel Günther, Boris Rhein, Sven Schulze, Kai Wegner, Michael Kretschmer, Gordon Schnieder, Mario Voigt and Hendrik Wüst. The political days of Wegner as Governing Mayor of Berlin and Sven Schulze as Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt are foreseeably numbered.

What is striking: Friedrich Merz is not mentioned by name. Nevertheless, the statement can be seen as the greatest possible reassurance for him. Those close to the Chancellor say that the Chancellor welcomes the support of the Prime Minister. With the declaration they demonstrated their responsibility for Germany. The current domestic political situation is about stability and credibility in the renewal of the country.

So far, only CSU Prime Minister Markus Söder had publicly stood before the Chancellor. Merz has invited the prime ministers to a presidium meeting in the Konrad Adenauer House early on Sunday evening. Such meetings are common on election nights. After the election in Saxony-Anhalt on September 6th, only Schleswig-Holstein's Prime Minister Günther came to Berlin.

This time the Konrad Adenauer House sent out a formal invitation. However, attendance is not compulsory. When asked by the taz whether they would accept the invitation, only the Saxon State Chancellery and the spokeswoman for the CDU in Schleswig-Holstein responded. Both Kretschmer and Günther plan to come to Berlin.

How precarious the situation is for the Chancellor is also shown by the fact that he canceled his planned trip to the UN General Assembly in New York. Government circles say his presence is necessary in Berlin. The group meets on Tuesday. According to taz information, the 224 members are apparently divided about the future of the Chancellor. It is expected that Merz will try to rally them behind him.