Political crisis and pressure for reform: Friedrich Merz under pressure

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has canceled his trip to the UN General Assembly in New York planned for next week. “Contrary to original plans, the Chancellor will not travel to New York next week because his presence in Berlin is necessary,” the German Press Agency learned from government circles.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz would like to put personnel debates behind the clarification of factual questions. “In Germany, every political discussion narrows down to personnel debates, and you all understand a lot about that,” he said in an interview with the journalist Gordon Repinski at a business conference in Berlin against the background of the current debate about a possible exchange of chancellors.

“At the moment I’m interested in the factual questions of how we can move forward.” Merz pointed out that he and his government were elected for four years. "And I would like us to use these four years to lead the country out of this difficult phase. And when we both discuss the question of how this can be done even better, I look forward to your suggestions."

After its high popularity in the local elections in Lower Saxony, the AfD cannot fill many of the seats it is entitled to. As the state election committee announced upon request, according to the preliminary results, 314 seats in local councils across the country remain unfilled, including 258 seats for the AfD. The preliminary municipal election results from the Rotenburg district are still pending.

Despite the debate surrounding his person, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has announced that he will definitely continue to implement reforms in the black-red coalition. He said at the Federal Association of Wholesale and Foreign Trade (BGA) in Berlin on Tuesday that he doesn't believe in speculation about a minority government at all. After the state elections on Sunday, he wants to discuss with the SPD whether it also wants to tackle further reforms.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has announced that the federal government wants to “soon” present measures against the rise in fuel prices caused by the Iran war. “You can assume that we will present a proposal on this very soon,” Merz told business representatives in Berlin on Tuesday. “The exact instruments have not yet been determined.”

CSU chairman Markus Söder has once again supported Chancellor and CDU leader Friedrich Merz and, in his own words, expects the same from the leadership of the sister party. When asked whether Merz was the right person to represent the AfD and help people with their concerns, and whether he assumed that Merz would receive support from the CDU presidium to continue governing on Sunday, Söder replied on Tuesday in Munich: "Yes, I am. And yes, I believe it. So, I am convinced - and yes, I believe that he will have support."

Chancellor and CDU leader Friedrich Merz has invited the party leadership to a formal meeting in Berlin on Sunday evening to discuss the results of the state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin and their consequences.

In response to Family Minister Karin Prien's (CDU) plans for parental allowance, the SPD women are calling for a family start time. After the birth of a child, partners should be released from work by their employer for four weeks with full salary compensation.

Bremen's CDU state chairman Heiko Strohmann has warned of the danger of the CDU collapsing nationwide. What is currently happening in the party landscape in East Germany “could also happen in Duisburg and Bremen,” he said on Deutschlandfunk.

In view of fuel prices at record levels, SPD General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf has accused Federal Minister of Economics Katherina Reiche (CDU) of inaction. "It's finally enough. Millions of people in our country are still struggling with completely excessive fuel prices and the responsible minister, Katherina Reiche, is watching as oil companies make record profits at the expense of the citizens," said Klüssendorf.

The AfD is imposing conditions on a video streamer close to it that sparked discussions around the state election campaign in Saxony-Anhalt. The YouTuber, who appears under the name “Activist Mann”, should only have access to party events if he “makes a binding commitment in advance not to harass other streamers and journalists”.

In view of the current debate about the future of Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), CSU boss Markus Söder has warned that the federal government will fail. “And it would be a disaster if, after the traffic light failed, the next democratic government failed shortly afterwards after a shorter period of time,” said the Bavarian Prime Minister.

A spokesman for the federal government has rejected speculation about a possible minority government of the Union under Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) as “completely out of thin air”.

Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) wants to improve the effectiveness of the rent cap. “Gaps in tenancy law” should be closed, Hubig told the Funke media group.

SPD leader Lars Klingbeil reacted in dismay to a violent attack on his co-party leader Bärbel Bas from the ranks of the Union. "What's the point? We're in damn difficult times. We have to stick together in a government," said the Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor in Celle, Lower Saxony.

On the question of an AfD ban, North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst has reiterated his call for a federal-state working group.