{
  "id": 8896850,
  "title": "Kanzlerkrise: Der Kanzler kämpft - was machen die Ministerpräsidenten?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/kanzlerkrise-der-kanzler-kampft-was-machen-die-ministerprasidenten",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-21T10:02:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/kanzlerkrise-der-kanzler-kaempft-was-machen-die-ministerpraesidenten/100255881.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "After the historic debacle of the CDU in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and the collapse in Berlin, party leadership is considering the consequences. The Prussian Residence and then the broader leadership convened in the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus in the morning. CDU leader and Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is largely blamed for the fiasco, aims to fight for both positions. The question remains: does he still have the backing of the party leadership? \"The party elite stands behind the Chancellor,\" declared Karl-Josef Laumann, deputy CDU chairman, as the only Prussian Residence member arrived at the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus. The others went to the basement or appeared before the cameras set up in front of the party headquarters, including Thorsten Frei, Bundestag faction leader, who often speaks. Union faction chief Catarina dos Santos-Wintz did assure the Chancellor the support of Union MPs in the ARD \"Morgenmagazin.\" \"Friedrich Merz has our confidence. He is leading this country in extraordinary and extremely difficult times,\" she said. \"He is our Chancellor.\" Unusual reactions at the CDU executive meeting - sometimes with flowers for the leading candidates - were absent this time. This was due to Berlin's leading candidate Stefan Evers arriving late. Photographers and camera operators were no longer allowed in. A historical humiliation in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. The CDU's defeat in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania was a historic turning point and one of the deepest humiliations in its 81-year history. For the first time, the party lost a Land Parliament. Additionally, it was displaced by the left in Berlin and may no longer be part of the new government. The second, albeit less painful, humiliation of the evening. Merz entered the offensive just a quarter-hour after the election booths closed and commented on the election results himself - an unusual step. Normally, it would be the Secretary General's job. Merz wanted to retain editorial control over the results. \"It's a disaster,\" he said about the numbers from Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, which were still between 5.0 and 5.5 percent at that time. Above all, he wanted to make clear that he would fight for his positions. He advocated his reform course and stated that what now needed to be done required courage, steadfastness, and patience. \"I will muster up - as CDU party chairman and above all as Chancellor of our country.\" The speech read from a teleprompter had Merz longer prepared. However, the Land Ministers were not informed in advance. A joint maneuver with them was not planned. The ministers will coordinate without Merz to enable him to remain Chancellor and Chancellor of our country. Land Ministers align without Merz to back the Chancellor The Chancellor needs the backing of the Land party leaders to continue. Primarily, those of the eight CDU Land Ministers. They had already stood behind Merz in a joint declaration on Wednesday on Gordon Schneider's initiative from Rhineland-Palatinate. \"The people can count on us to tackle their problems. As Land Ministers, we will jointly contribute to this with the Chancellor,\" they said. It remains to be seen if the Land Ministers will reaffirm this statement. After leaving the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus around 8 p.m. on Sunday, they convened in the Rhineland-Palatinate Land Office to vote. Seven Land Ministers, including Rhineland-Palatinate's government head Gordon Schnieder and Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony's Land Presidents Manuel Hagel and Sebastian Lechner, were present. The departing Berlin mayor Kai Wegner was absent. The risk factor of pressure from the party base on Merz and the party elite is unpredictable. Some in the CDU recall the dynamics that led to Jens Spahn's resignation as Bundestag faction leader in the summer. Many in the party leadership, including CDU leader Merz, underestimated the outrage from the base over Spahn and his wife's lease of a surrogate mother in the USA to have children. The pressure from below quickly intensified to the point that Spahn's resignation became inevitable. However, there is only one public call for Merz's resignation from below, coming from the chairman of the Berlin Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsunion (MIT), Christian Gräff. \"Merz must go. He can no longer manage executive affairs and cannot communicate,\" he tweeted. Only one potential successor is being discussed, but no consensus. The Land Ministers of North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria, Hendrik Wüst (CDU) and Markus Söder (CSU), who do not get along particularly well, would have to unite first. Especially Wüst seems unlikely to accept a Chancellorship at this time, as he has a Landtag election coming up in April that is crucial for the CDU overall. So it seems likely that Merz will remain Chancellor for now, but only on probation. He needs to regain trust and above all, the already decided reform.",
  "summary": "Die schlimmsten Befürchtungen der CDU sind am Wahlabend wahr geworden. Der Kanzler will aber trotzdem um sein Amt kämpfen. Hat er noch den Rückhalt der Parteiführung?",
  "key_points": [
    "CDU leader Friedrich Merz fights for positions amid party crisis.",
    "Land Ministers align without Merz to back Chancellor.",
    "One potential successor discussed, but no consensus."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}