Germany: Is it possible to replace the chancellor?

It is the hot topic this week in Berlin: Does German Chancellor Friedrich Merz still have the backing of his own party, the Christian Democrats (CDU), and the coalition partners, Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU) and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD)? Will he be ousted? How would that work? Can he just step down?

Support for the chancellor has reached a record low: In the latest Deutschlandtrend representative survey, conducted by pollsters Infratest-Dimap for German public broadcaster ARD in early September, only 13% of respondents said Merz was doing a good job.

In early September, Merz's CDU suffered a resounding loss in the state of Saxony-Anhalt 's parliamentary election, seeing the party's result halved from the 2021 election.

The election result has reinforced criticism of Merz, even from within his own ranks, and his communication style, which frequently alienates his audience.

But Merz remains chancellor. What are the options to change that? Germany's constitution, the Basic Law , grants the position a strong standing. German chancellors are not so easy to unseat.

Merz himself can decide to resign for any reason. That would not necessarily mean the end of the coalition government he leads. An example: In May 1974, then Chancellor Willy Brandt of the SPD resigned after a spy from communist East Germany (DDR) was discovered to have been working in his inner circle. The governing parties, the SPD and the business-oriented Free Democrats (FDP), quickly agreed to continue their alliance.

本文の著作権はDeutsche Welleにあります。