CDU state leader Evers sees Merz as partly responsible for election defeats

After the CDU's series of defeats in three state elections, the state leader in Berlin, Stefan Evers, also sees Chancellor Friedrich Merz as partly to blame. In conversations before the election on doorsteps, many people expressed extreme frustration with the performance of the black-red federal government, and the name Merz was “constantly” mentioned, Evers told the “Tagesspiegel”.

"With regard to the Chancellor, the crisis of confidence began with the discussion about the debt brake and the question: Why did the opposite of what Friedrich Merz described as the red line just days before happen shortly after the election?" he asked. Evers concluded: “Disappointed hopes and expectations cost political credibility and therefore trust.” Background: As a candidate for chancellor, Merz had ruled out easing the debt brake until the day of the election, only to then initiate the opposite with the votes of the SPD and the Greens.

Evers said there was another point that was noticeable in the election campaign, namely the “lack of empathy and approachability”. Especially in difficult times, the political leadership must convey a positive promise for the future, he added.

Evers: Chancellor doesn't need any advice from me

When asked whether Merz was still the right person to be chancellor, Evers said: "Every top politician must, in the spirit of the matter, continually assess whether a point has been reached at which one might be standing in the way of one's own convictions more than benefiting them." When asked whether the time had come, he said: "I don't think the Chancellor needs any advice from me on this issue."

Merz came under massive pressure within his own party after the election debacle in Saxony-Anhalt four weeks ago. On September 20th, the CDU was thrown out of the state parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and was pushed out of first place in parliament in Berlin by the Left.

All surveys currently show very weak approval ratings for Merz. The CDU leader is currently struggling intensively with his coalition partner SPD to find solutions for, among other things, care, pension and tax reforms.