Former CDU General Secretary Mario Chaya called on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to resign
Mario Czaja demanded the resignation of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after the failed regional elections of the CDU
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Former CDU General Secretary Mario Czaja called on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to leave his post after the party's failure in regional elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony-Anhalt.
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Why It Matters
The CDU was defeated in the regional elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, gaining 4.9% and falling short of the five percent threshold.
BERLIN, September 23 - RIA Novosti. Former Secretary General of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Mario Chaya called on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to leave his post amid the disastrous results of the regional elections for the party.
Merz on Sunday called the CDU's result in the elections to the Landtag of the federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern a disaster. Previously, he also admitted his party's loss in the elections in Saxony-Anhalt. Despite this, Merz announced his desire to retain his chairmanship of the party and continue working as chancellor.
“I believe that the time has come to make room. With him (Merz - ed.) nothing else is working out. Giving him more time makes no sense,” Chaya said on the Welt TV channel.
The former CDU secretary general noted that Merz has lost “basic trust” and lacks the “emotional intelligence” to understand what is happening in Germany now. In particular, he reproached the chancellor for “trampling on the legacy” of the prominent German figure Wolfgang Schäuble due to his readiness to further soften the so-called “debt brake” mechanism.
In this regard, Chaya expressed confidence that ordinary members of the CDU will soon begin to “vote with their feet” against the course of the current party leadership led by Merz.
“My former boss always said: there is no second chance to make a bad first impression. And this is exactly what applies to Friedrich Merz,” Chaya concluded.
Mario Czaja served as CDU general secretary from January 2022 to July 2023, after which Merz replaced him with Carsten Linnemann.
Regional elections to the Landtag (legislative assembly) of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern were held on September 20. The opposition right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) won with 38.2% of the vote after processing 100% of the protocols, and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), led by Merz, scored 4.9% and for the first time in history did not overcome the five percent barrier.
Open Questions
- Will Friedrich Merz resign under pressure from fellow party members?
- How will the election results affect the coalition?
