Declaration of loyalty from the CDU prime ministers for Chancellor Friedrich Merz

“The Standard” (Austria)

"But Merz can be happy about that, right? It's not that simple. Firstly, the - exclusively - gentlemen took a very long time to come up with their statement. Merz has been under heavy pressure for ten days, since the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt on September 6th. Secondly, such a statement, no matter how well-intentioned, shows Merz's weakness. If his authority hadn't eroded so much recently, there would be no need for such a public oath of loyalty. Thirdly - and not unoriginal: The name Friedrich Merz does not appear in the statement. There is only talk of the “Federal Chancellor” with whom they want to tackle the problems. That leaves room for interpretation.

“Notizie Geopolitiche” (Italy)

"Eight signatures prevent a mutiny. The presidents of eight CDU-led federal states - comparable to the prime ministers of the federal states - have signed a document that supports Friedrich Merz, the CDU's chancellor who has been in office for 16 months. There has been speculation about his possible replacement for weeks.

The signatories represent Schleswig-Holstein, Saxony, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia: a front that stretches across Germany from north to south and from east to west. However, the message is not aimed at voters. It is aimed at the party leaders who have been toying with the idea of a 'chancellor swap' in the current legislative period for months. The document serves to invalidate that idea, at least for now, as Bloomberg notes. 'Our country will continue to need a stable and effective federal government with its own majority in the Bundestag,' write the eight.

Why now? Because elections are taking place in two federal states on Sunday and these polls are seen by everyone - allies and opponents alike - as the true test of Merz's stability. The Conservatives fear heavy losses and the Chancellor had to secure his position before the election, not after.”

“Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”

"Well, finally, those in the CDU will have exclaimed, whose silence had already been ringing painfully in their ears. (...) However, the 'statement' of the CDU prime ministers is also evidence of how great they consider the hardship in which the Chancellor and his government find themselves. (...) And Merz is still Federal Chancellor, elected for four years. (...) Anyone who recommends Merz to seek salvation as a minority chancellor is recommending the jump into political chaos and one New election, from which the CDU (and certainly not the CSU) would probably not emerge as the strongest party (...) Germany will have to offer even more leadership in the next few years. The 'External Chancellor' wants to and can do that - if the CDU and the SPD keep their nerve and give him time to prove himself as inner chancellor and reformer.

“Munich Mercury”

"The astonishing thing about the eight CDU prime ministers' declaration of loyalty to Friedrich Merz is not the support per se, but the fact that it comes so late. Before that, anyone in the CDU who wanted to was allowed to cool their hats on the Chancellor for weeks. Even young female politicians, whom no one had ever heard of before, easily made it onto the evening news if they talked to him hard enough. And no one at the top objected. Whether the loss of authority that has occurred since then The days after the elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin will have to show that the Chancellor's situation can still be healed. In any case, Merz has succeeded for the time being in fending off a coup from above.

“Saarbrücker Zeitung”

"The statement is remarkable and shows clearly how tight the situation has become for Merz. It is now the last chance he has. Whether it will be enough to survive the election Sunday and the subsequent committees in the party and the parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday, for which Merz canceled a trip to the USA specifically? Uncertain. 'The path to new trust among people in Christian Democracy leads through listening and political action, not through personnel discussions,' it says “The Prime Minister’s paper is true. But only if the Germans also attribute these skills to the people at the top of the country.”

“New Osnabrücker Zeitung”

"Merz has his share in the crisis. What is surprising now is the fact that his fiercest opponents are firing from within his own ranks. It is amazing how coup rumors persist in the Union. The CDU has the choice between many bad options. But the worst option would be to overthrow Merz. That would shake Germany's political heart. Would there then be new elections? Then the AfD would probably be the strongest force in the Bundestag. Who can want that? And who should inherit Merz? Markus Söder, who has made massive cuts with his CSU, or Hendrik Wüst, who wants to be re-elected as Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia. No, a fall from Merz would be suicide for the Union.