Merz faces growing calls to resign after CDU election defeat in Saxony-Anhalt

Following the election in Saxony-Anhalt, some voices within the CDU are openly calling for a change of chancellor. It sounds tempting, but it would not solve many problems.

September 13, 2026 — 11:01 AM

He too is on shaky ground: Friedrich Merz at the Konrad Adenauer House on Monday. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa

By Sabine am Orde

A few weeks ago, a 50-year-old video landed with the CDU. A man, played by Loriot, wants to straighten a picture hanging crookedly on the living room wall. As a result, a second picture slips out of its frame, a third falls, and disaster unfolds. In less than three minutes, from order to chaos—that is the story of Loriot's classic sketch "The Picture Hangs Crooked."

The video went viral in CDU chat groups; the connection to Friedrich Merz was immediately clear to everyone. "He can't do it," was frequently heard from within the CDU these days, even semi-publicly. The chancellor had just botched a personnel reshuffle, the hoped-for fresh start fizzled out, and parts of the CDU turned on Merz. In the end, his authority was damaged, and the party stood worse off than before. That was eight weeks ago.

Since Sunday, the CDU's situation has dramatically worsened. Or rather: the CDU's dramatic situation is more visible than ever. In the state parliament election in Saxony-Anhalt, the Christian Democrats plummeted to 17.2 percent; of their previous 40 seats in the Magdeburg state parliament, only 15 remain. Together with the Greens, the Left Party, and the SPD, the CDU now has as many representatives as the AfD; the old party order has shifted. The far-right extremists could soon take power in Saxony-Anhalt. It is a watershed moment.

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Merz, who wanted to halve the AfD, bears considerable responsibility for this outcome. This is shown not only by experiences at campaign stands between Altmark and Zeitz but also by post-election surveys. Three-quarters of respondents believe that the chancellor harmed the CDU's performance; nearly half of CDU supporters share this view.

"Nevertheless, it is naturally correct that I have the problem that many people cannot or do not want to follow my thoughts and assessments. That is my duty to deliver, and I accept it," Merz said on Monday at the CDU headquarters in a self-critical moment. Now he wants to reach people "in all their emotionality" and find a "better narrative." But why should he suddenly succeed?

Upcoming elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Berlin

Within the CDU, things have remained relatively calm given the situation. But what happens if the party receives single-digit results in the upcoming state parliament election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and undercuts even the worst state parliament election result—9.1 percent in Bremen in 1951? And what if they lose the position of head of government in Berlin to the Left Party? To the Left Party! Then all the anger directed at Friedrich Merz could break loose again, more vehemently than ever before.

He must step down from the chair, and someone else must take it. — Tino Schomann, Deputy State Chairman of the CDU in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

One person has already come out of hiding: "He must step down from the chair, and someone else must take it," demanded Tino Schomann, who is after all the deputy CDU state chairman in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. After September 20, there will be more such voices.

"There could be a knee-jerk reaction among the agitated base and the nervous Bundestag parliamentary group—and without a well-thought-out strategy," says political scientist Julia Reuschenbach.

It certainly sounds easy: We replace the unpopular frontman, and then perhaps not everything will be good, but significantly better. Only: For a chancellor resignation, there is currently neither a suitable script nor a protagonist willing to play the role of kingmaker.

"Giving up is not an option for me."