Berlin — German leader Friedrich Merz's position is under threat as the far-right surges in popularity and support for his own center-right party tanks. The situation is so serious that he canceled a planned trip to New York next week to represent his country at the United Nations General Assembly. Merz, a conservative, is facing tremendous pressure in the wake of the far-right AfD's landslide state election victory in Saxony-Anhalt last week.
Their success, fueled by frustration among many Germans about the impact of immigration, came at the expense of Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. It has accelerated a monthslong trend that spells trouble for the center-right leader of Europe's biggest economy. Merz's poll ratings have fallen sharply.
His government is grappling with a weak economy, and many voters who had hoped the former corporate executive would fix that have become disillusioned with delays in implementing financial and tax reforms. The pressure has raised a once-unthinkable question in Berlin: Could Merz be forced out as chancellor before the end of his term? The chancellor's crisis goes beyond poor polling, veteran journalist Kerstin Münstermann told CBS News.
"We are witnessing a genuine crisis of authority and leadership within the CDU," said Münstermann, who has covered Merz's career closely as a member of the regional Rheinische Post's editorial board and head of its Berlin parliamentary bureau. When Merz became chancellor early last year, many Germans saw him, above all else, as someone who could help revive the flagging economy. The former corporate lawyer and board member had worked for years to position himself as a strong economic hand to take the reins from Angela Merkel and her successor Olaf Scholz.
But "the situation for people has not noticeably improved," Münstermann told CBS News. "If anything, it has gotten worse." The economic upturn promised by Merz has, undeniably, not materialized. While Germany is again seeing moderate growth, the labor market deteriorated last year.
In August, more than 3 million people were unemployed, an increase of 36,000 from the previous year. Demand for labor remains weak, according to the Federal Employment Agency. One of the key issues underlying Merz's political crisis is immigration.
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