Joachim Gauck warns Friedrich Merz not to resign and expresses skepticism about forming a government in Berlin

Former Federal President Joachim Gauck has warned Chancellor Friedrich Merz not to resign. “It would really be totally damaging,” he said. A withdrawal by the Chancellor would damage the remaining trust, especially among those who voted for Merz: “Remaining trust would suffer severely and be minimized even more.”

At the same time, Gauck accused Merz of “there being a blatant contradiction between his announcements and his political actions.” He is sure that the criticism, including from within his own ranks, will reach the Chancellor and trigger a conflict within him: "The Chancellor has now heard so much criticism that I can't imagine anything other than what is now going on in his head."

Merz wants to serve and benefit the country, said Gauck. Gauck cannot imagine the Chancellor resigning: "If he wanted to do that now, then he would be a complete political idiot. He won't do that. That's not possible, you can't do that."

In addition to his remarks about the Chancellor, Gauck was also skeptical about a possible government alliance between the Left, the SPD and the Greens in Berlin. “I think it will be extremely difficult,” said Gauck in the “Spiegel” “top-level conversation” in the Admiralpalast with Markus Feldenkirchen.

“I'm more excited about the Berlin Left when I imagine how the Social Democrats and the Greens are now supposed to form an alliance with them.” After the Left's election victory, the three parties are holding talks about possibly forming a government.

Gauck based his skepticism on anti-Semitic tendencies within the party. Criticism of the policies of the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is of course legitimate. “There are many reasons why friends of Israel are also highly critical of what the Netanyahu government is doing,” said the former Federal President.

At the same time, he was aware that anti-Israel activist networks had formed around the world in which anti-Semitism was “acceptably accepted” in calls for boycotts and demonstrations against Israel. “But this is Germany and this is Berlin,” said Gauck.

That’s why we have to “take a different look” here, also because these activists are international and partly networked in the cultural scene. “And then our immigrants have to understand that,” said Gauck.