The English lesson for Friedrich Merz and plans to stand firm

Last year, Chancellor Friedrich Merz was criticised for not attending the UN General Assembly in New York in person, preferring to stay at home to prepare the budget bill. This year, it’s the same story all over again. On Wednesday, it will be Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul who represents Germany at the UN Headquarters rather than Merz, who is even nicknamed "the Foreign Chancellor". He will remain in Berlin rather than travel to New York in order to monitor, alongside the CDU leadership convened for Sunday evening, the outcome of the regional elections in Mecklenburg and the capital. While in Mecklenburg Merz’s party is a clear favourite, in Berlin the CDU risks losing the mayoral seat to the socialists and communists of Die Linke.

The Chancellor will bear in mind that these are just two limited votes; yet there is always the risk that, just as Labour did with Keir Sarmer, the CDU might panic and jilt the unpopular Merz to change the jockey. The Chancellor, who may not be the best at gauging voters’ sentiment but knows how to read the polls, has caught on. That is why he is careful not to rush off to New York: he needs to save his own skin by relying on two assumptions.

Firstly: the party is behind me – which is why, a few days ago, I received a letter of support from the eight CDU governors. Secondly: things aren’t actually that bad. Among his recent comments are statements such as: “We are making up for lost time in relation to what we should have done a long time ago”. "We live in a fantastic country, one of the most beautiful in the world, a country where young people are building their future." “In 2025 alone, 3,500 new start-ups were launched, an all-time record: Berlin has become a hub for AI and start-ups.” And, again, “despite the criticism, Germany is on the road to recovery from the crisis.” A bit like Berlusconi and “the full restaurants” – a phrase which, however, ‘Il Cavaliere’ uttered eight days before resigning.