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🇦🇹 Austria /Elections & Politics

After election disaster, Friedrich Merz is stunned and plans to reinvent himself

From Die Presse · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources Ongoing story
  • Chancellor Friedrich Merz faced calls for change after the CDU suffered a major defeat in Saxony-Anhalt while the AfD celebrated a breakthrough.
  • Merz’s allies rejected resignation speculation and urged the party to maintain its course, but polling showed his approval falling to 9%.
  • The SPD coalition partners demanded a pause and correction in the government’s reform agenda, especially its unpopular pension reform.

Friedrich Merz had considered addressing the public on election night after the dramatic result in Saxony-Anhalt. He ultimately left his allies to draw a “firewall” between the CDU’s defeat and the chancellor in Berlin, while he watched the results in shock with close aides at party headquarters.

It would be the wrong thing to do if we started asking personnel questions.

· Nina WarkenThe chancellery minister rejected calls to focus on personnel changes after the CDU’s election defeat.

His supporters quickly moved to protect him. Chancellery Minister Nina Warken warned that raising personnel questions would be “the wrong thing to do” and urged the party to continue along its existing path. Parliamentary leader Thorsten Frei rejected speculation about Merz’s resignation, saying the Bundestag and the chancellor had been elected for four years. The message, the article noted, sounded like a call to hold the line.

The AfD’s Alice Weidel mocked the CDU after the right-wing populists’ triumph, saying it would never win another election. Ulrich Siegmund explicitly thanked Merz as his “best campaign helper”, while Bild called the result a “day of pain”. Pollsters found that Merz’s already low approval had fallen to 9%. The CDU also faces the prospect of a single-digit result in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the loss of the mayor’s office in Berlin in elections on Sept. 20.

We must continue the course we have begun.

· Nina WarkenWarken presented continuity as the party’s response to the result.

The coalition’s problems extend beyond the CDU. SPD leaders Lars Klingbeil and Bärbel Bas are pushing for a pause in the reform agenda, particularly the unpopular pension reform, which has met strong resistance in eastern Germany. They said there would be no “business as usual” and no reforms forced through “with one’s head against the wall”. Bas described the state election as a clear vote against Berlin.

best campaign helper

· Ulrich SiegmundSiegmund thanked Merz while celebrating the AfD’s election triumph.

That leaves Merz facing a turbulent autumn after a difficult summer. Problems surrounding the government reshuffle have caused resentment inside parts of the CDU, and the party branch in Rhineland-Palatinate even refused to meet him. Within the party, people are increasingly speaking privately of a “chancellor problem”. Merz now promises to change his style and communication, with more empathy and emotion.

with one’s head against the wall

· Bärbel BasThe SPD leader opposed forcing unpopular reforms through despite resistance.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Presse in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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