Merz has "never" discussed resigning, senior ally says

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has never considered resigning despite mounting criticism of his government, Thorsten Frei, parliamentary leader of the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) bloc in the Bundestag, said.

“No,” Frei replied when asked on German broadcaster ZDF whether Merz had considered stepping down. Frei added that such a move had never been discussed. Until July, he served as head of the Federal Chancellery and was regarded as the government leader's right-hand man.

Frei said the challenges facing Germany in both domestic and foreign policy were currently enormous. In his view, however, little would change simply because someone else were to face those challenges instead. At the same time, he acknowledged that the government's approval ratings were currently “terrible.”

From the conservative bloc leader's perspective, the key question is whether the governing coalition will have enough political strength to launch its planned reforms in the autumn.

Frei described the proposals put forward by a government-appointed commission on pension reform as “innovative.” He said the measures represented a compromise not only between political parties but also between generations.

“We are not facing a menu where you can choose one item and leave another,” Frei said, arguing that political will was now needed to support measures, including those that were unpopular.

According to the latest poll conducted by the INSA polling institute for German newspaper Bild, Merz remains at the bottom of the ranking of Germany's leading politicians.

On August 22, the German chancellor was booed at his first public event after returning from vacation. The event took place in the municipality of Hürtgenwald in North Rhine-Westphalia, where a major forest fire had previously raged.

By Tamilla Hasanova