Friedrich Merz is the most tragic chancellor in the young history of the reunified Germany. It is time for him to step down. This was made very clear, when he faced the cameras after yet another election that was lost by his party, the CDU. After losing Saxony-Anhalt and then Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) – while Berlin fell to the socialist far-left Die Linke – everyone here in Germany expected a speech with consequences. Would he declare the “Brandmauer” – the firewall, that would prevent the CDU from ever even getting majorities on bills through in parliament with the AfD – to be over? Would he step down and make way for a new chancellor? Painstakingly, nothing of the two happened: Friedrich Merz stated simply that he will stay. That he will push through reforms and get Germany back on track. His message, essentially, is to keep calm and carry on.

Yet even the staunchest Merz supporter must see that his chancellorship is over. The only one who doesn’t seem to get it is Friedrich Merz himself. The tragic figure, who became chancellor last year in February and has ever since stepped from one botched idea to the next. Merz ditched the sacred debt brake, which the CDU had campaigned and won on, under pressure from his coalition partner, the Social Democrats. And he has failed to crack down on illegal migration, choosing instead to hide behind the Brandmauer. Merz himself truly believes he is doing the best for Germany. Not so much the Germans themselves. On his first day as chancellor, he promised to halve the AfD in his tenure. Instead, support for his own party has halved and support for the AfD has doubled.

Friedrich Merz had the chance of his life to build a strong chancellorship that would go down in history. He failed

Friedrich Merz had the chance of his life to build a strong chancellorship that would go down in history. He failed

Ever since Angela Merkel, also from the CDU,........

© The Spectator