(Adnkronos) – 53% of Germans do not believe that replacing Friedrich Merz would benefit the conservative bloc of the Cdu/Csu. According to a Forsa poll conducted for the weekly Stern and for Rtl, the majority of the population believes that the two parties – Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union – would not achieve better electoral results if Merz were replaced by another exponent of his party. 41% of the sample think differently.
Even among supporters of the two parties, only 42% of the 1008 respondents believe in a possible different electoral outcome with another leader, against 56% who disagree. The poll was conducted after German media reported internal discussions within conservative political circles about a possible leadership change after a difficult first year in office for Merz and unflattering polls for the conservative bloc. Among the possible successors to the chancellor is Hendrik Wüst, the premier of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Merz’s allies were quick to dispute any speculation. Group leader Jens Spahn spoke of “pure nonsense,” assuring full support for the chancellor. For the CDU general secretary, Carsten Linnemann, the discussion is merely an artificial debate, far from the voters’ concerns, which are focused on concrete problems, from energy costs to taxes. The conservatives are engaged with the Social Democrats of the Spd – in a coalition with Cdu-Csu in the federal government – in difficult negotiations on health and pension reforms.
