German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has cancelled the trip he was due to make next week to New York for the UN General Assembly. A government source told Reuters that "his presence is required in Berlin". The decision comes amid the deepest internal crisis in the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since Merz took office in 2025.
On Wednesday (16 September), eight CDU minister-presidents — the heads of Germany's state governments — issued a joint statement calling for unity and standing by the chancellor. "People can trust that we will address their problems," the statement reads, according to the news portal t-online.
What triggered the crisis
The trigger was the 6 September state election in Saxony-Anhalt, in eastern Germany. The CDU fell to 17.2%, a loss of almost 20 percentage points, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) reached 43.8%, close to an absolute majority.
National polls have worsened too. In the latest YouGov survey, the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, stand at 18%, the lowest the poll has recorded, against 29% for the AfD. In the 2025 federal election, the Union won 28.6%.
Who signed and what they stand for
The statement was signed by Daniel Günther (Schleswig-Holstein), Boris Rhein (Hesse), Sven Schulze (Saxony-Anhalt), Kai Wegner (Berlin), Michael Kretschmer (Saxony), Gordon Schnieder (Rhineland-Palatinate), Mario Voigt (Thuringia) and Hendrik Wüst (North Rhine-Westphalia).
It rejects minority governments, reaffirms the "firewall" against the AfD — the refusal of any cooperation with the party — and says the path to regaining trust lies "through listening and political action, not through personnel debates", according to the German site Newsworm. The CDU's labour wing, by contrast, said the chancellor's strategy had failed.
Merz denies he is considering leaving office before the end of his term. "I was elected for four years," he said, according to Reuters.
Next test on Sunday
On Sunday (20 September), state elections will be held in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In Berlin, governed by Kai Wegner, the CDU is tied for the lead with The Left at around 20%. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, an Insa poll puts the AfD at 37%, the SPD at 35% and the CDU at just 7%.
Another setback in the two votes is likely to reopen the debate over the chancellor's leadership that the premiers' statement seeks to close.
Reporting based on Reuters, t-online and Newsworm.
