Merz has no good answers as the far right targets his downfall

BERLIN — Germany’s far right is moving to turn its landslide election victory into a knockout blow against Friedrich Merz and his beleaguered conservatives — and the chancellor appears at a loss over how to respond. Merz seemed to have no clear plan for saving himself and his party as his government confronted its biggest political crisis yet, beyond ambiguous promises to become a better, more empathetic politician 16 months into his chancellorship. “We are all deeply shocked,” Merz said Monday, after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) reached a new high in Saxony-Anhalt’s weekend election while support for his Christian Democratic Union fell by more than half. “This is the worst election defeat the CDU has suffered in years — or even decades,” the chancellor added. “Of course, there will have to be consequences.” But what those consequences will be remains uncertain. Merz’s dismal approval ratings and the AfD’s convincing win have fueled speculation that his conservatives could seek a Kanzlertausch, or “chancellor swap,” to revive their political fortunes. But Merz said Monday that he would remain in office and stay the course on economic reforms he argues are long overdue and will, with time, solve the country’s economic problems. The AfD has made little secret of its intent to turn the election loss into a still greater debacle for Merz. The far-right party is openly courting conservative lawmakers in Saxony-Anhalt to defect and join its ranks — a strategy aimed not only at securing the three additional seats it needs to govern alone, but also at fracturing the conservatives and breaking Merz’s control of his party. “The conservative bloc will never again be able to win a federal election, that is a fact,” AfD national co-leader Alice Weidel said in Berlin on Monday. “The gap between us and them is already at 10 percent, and my stated goal is to significantly widen that gap in the shortest possible time.” Merz on Monday acknowledged that he is part of the problem. Only 9 percent of people voting in Saxony-Anhalt approved of his performance as chancellor, according to one exit poll for German public television. “I know that my persona, too, has been a recurring topic in this election campaign,” Merz said. Germans are anxious about their economic wellbeing and security in turbulent times, he went on, adding: “We must try — myself included — to connect more deeply with people, including their full range of emotions.” Under pressure The pressure on Merz is likely only to build in the next weeks, particularly as elections loom in two eastern regions on Sept. 20. Merz’s CDU is headed for clear defeat in the state of Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, where the AfD is ahead of all other parties. In Berlin, where the CDU is currently governing, the party is likely to fall out of power to a coalition of left-wing parties. With four more state elections set for next year, conservatives face a clear choice: continue confronting the rising far right under a deeply unpopular chancellor, or fundamentally change course with a new leader at the helm. Merz appeared to acknowledge the dilemma his party is facing. “This election result is causing major upheaval, not only in our country, but also within my party,” he said Monday. “I take this extremely seriously, and I intend to do my best over the coming days and weeks to personally address the gravity of the situation.” While most of the talk of replacing Merz is taking place in private, signs of conservative dissatisfaction with Merz’s leadership are beginning to spill out into the open. Alice Weidel speaks to the media in Berlin on Sept. 7, 2026. | Sean Gallup/Getty Images “Anyone who wants to regain trust and credibility must, in the wake of such a result, question everything,” CDU lawmaker Sepp Müller wrote in a social media post. “After a result like this, we cannot simply carry on as usual,” Gordon Schnieder, the CDU state premier of Rhineland-Palatinate, w