Thorsten Frei rejects Merz resignation speculation amid low approval ratings

Rejection of resignation speculation

CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Thorsten Frei dismissed suggestions that Chancellor Friedrich Merz has considered stepping down after 15 months in office. During an appearance on the ZDF talk show Markus Lanz on Tuesday evening, Frei responded with a direct denial when asked whether Merz had ever weighed a resignation. Frei, who served as head of the Federal Chancellery until July before taking over the parliamentary leadership following the resignation of Jens Spahn, maintained that no serious figures in Berlin are discussing a replacement at the top of government.

I know nobody serious who discusses something like that.

Polling drop and public criticism

Frei conceded during the broadcast that current opinion polls for the governing coalition are terrible, though he maintained that the Christian Democratic Union remains the most successful Christian democratic party in Europe. A recent Forsa institute survey for the RTL and ntv Trendbarometer recorded that 85 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with the chancellor's performance, while 13 percent expressed satisfaction. On the program, Politico Deutschland editor-in-chief Michael Bröcker noted that approval ratings near 12 percent nationally and 20 percent for the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt represent severe political vulnerability. Moderator Markus Lanz noted that previous chancellor Olaf Scholz reached 23 percent approval during his lowest standing.

Frei also defended Merz against criticism regarding a three-week summer holiday taken during recent security incidents involving drones and forest fires. When shown footage of Merz receiving boos while thanking emergency responders after fires in Hürtgenwald, Frei attributed the disruption to organized agitation mobilized on social media rather than organic regional sentiment.

Friction over retirement rules

The parliamentary leader addressed internal CDU pushback against planned federal pension reforms presented before the summer break. The measures include abolishing early retirement at age 63 without deductions for workers with 45 years of contributions. Three eastern German CDU state premiers, Michael Kretschmer of Saxony, Sven Schulze of Saxony-Anhalt, and Mario Voigt of Thuringia, publicly challenged the plan with an eye toward upcoming regional election campaigns. Frei acknowledged that he was surprised and irritated by their public resistance, but insisted that the legislative package cannot be dismantled into individual selections.

That is now simply not a menu lying in front of us, where you pick out one point and leave the other behind.

Autumn legislative agenda

The federal coalition is working to pass the broader pension package alongside revisions to nursing care insurance and working hours legislation before the end of the year. Merz is gathering government ministers for a cabinet retreat in Neuhardenberg to consolidate support and accelerate the policy schedule. Frei's successor as Chancellery chief, Nina Warken, confirmed that the government intends to advance the contested pension measures during the autumn parliamentary session. Frei argued that modern governance requires passing difficult trade-offs, noting that state distributions inevitably require withdrawing resources from other areas.