“Neither last night nor this morning did anyone raise any personnel-related questions, let alone engage in a debate on personnel matters. Not a single person,” Merz told reporters in Berlin.
Prien was among the CDU leaders who publicly closed ranks — but, notably, her endorsement of the chancellor was not exactly glowing. Prien suggested Merz would stay on because the party could not agree on who would take the helm.
“Our country is in a truly difficult situation, and I’m weighing our options very carefully,” she told German public television Monday. “I don’t see how replacing a leader would actually bring about change, unless there is another candidate available. I don’t see that either. And in that regard, we must now work together with the chancellor — as a government on the one hand and as a party on the other — to discuss how we can regain greater acceptance and credibility among the public.”
Two CDU officials, granted anonymity to discuss the party’s internal mood, said upcoming meetings of party leaders, including on Tuesday, when Merz is to face his parliamentary group in the Bundestag, are expected to become tense. But they said Merz is safe as long as his critics in the party can’t agree on the best candidate to succeed him.
“It’s always easy to voice criticism,” said one conservative lawmaker. “But after that, you also have to be able to say what comes next — and that’s when things tend to quickly get pretty quiet.”
A closed-door meeting of the CDU leaders is also expected to take place next weekend in Berlin.