Merz: Germany remains a stable democracy

Friedrich Merz appeared visibly grim as he addressed Germany the day after the AfD's major victory in Saxony-Anhalt. He called the result “deeply shocking,” saying the scale of the setback had not been expected. “This also affects me deeply,” the chancellor said at a press conference on Monday.

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deeply shocking

Asked whether he would draw personal consequences from the result, Merz said he would not run from his responsibility to reform Germany and prepare it for the future. “Giving up is not an option for me,” he said.

Merz also used the appearance to reassure Europe and the wider world, where the result has raised concern about Germany's political direction. “Germany's institutions are stable. That is my message to Europe and to the whole world,” he said.

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This also affects me deeply.

The chancellor repeatedly returned to the falling level of trust in his government and in him personally, acknowledging that the decline did not leave him unmoved. He said the government needed to communicate its policies with “more emotion,” suggesting that he had so far relied too heavily on rational arguments. “I am not the kind of person who shows emotions every day. But it will get better,” he promised.

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Giving up is not an option for me.

Merz presented continued government reform as the route to removing the foundations of the AfD's appeal, which he said was riding a wave of dissatisfaction with the government. But questions remain over how much support he has within his own party and, especially, among the Social Democrats, who began challenging several central coalition reform plans on Monday. Strains in the partnership could provide further momentum for the AfD. The government is nonetheless facing stronger centrifugal forces, while Merz must also await state elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

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Germany's institutions are stable. That is my message to Europe and to the whole world.